No Eyes Needed
by vericus
Summary: The day of Elrond's Council in Rivendell, a young girl in Minas Tirith gained a strange gift. Fostered by Aragorn and Arwen because of her gift, her life only becomes stranger when Legolas comes to visit, raising questions about her parentage.
1. To Recognize a King

Disclaimer: I own Eli and the particular way the words in this story are put together. Everything else, I don't own. Though I would very much like to in the case of a certain Elf and King of Gondor...  
  
Authors Note: Third times the charm, they say. Took me three tries to start this FanFiction in a way I liked. The first two times revolved around someone falling into Middle-Earth (yes, again) but then I came up with a better start. But anyways. Longer chapters will come later, I promise.  
  
Also, my apologies on any elvish in this story. I'm horrible at languages - my mom has been trying to drive French into my brain for about 10 years and I still haven't gotten a hold on it. So I'm not about to learn Elvish. Thus, all the elvish is direct translation from the dictionary with no grammar even considered. If anyone out there reading this knows Quenya Elvish and would like to be my personal Elvish translator, leave me a review (at least partly) in Elvish with your email, and I'll be in contact! :)  
  
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-No Eyes Needed-  
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-Chapter I-  
-To Recognize a King-  
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He stepped out of the shadowed doorway, but became no more visible to the passer-by. He was dressed from head to foot in black and dirty brown clothes, seeming to almost blend him into the shadows that were just starting to lengthen. To the common passer-by, he was unnoticeable, indiscrepant, someone one sees and then promptly forgets about.  
  
And that is just what the busy people hurrying along the streets of Minas Tirith did. They saw him, of course, and a few wondered that a ranger had come into the City and was wandering the streets, instead of being up at the palace, but they soon forgot about him. In the shadows cast by the hood of his cloak, the man smiled.  
  
It was good, for once, to be able to walk where one willed without constant attention, he mused as he walked calmly down the street. He stuck to the shadows, watching the street, letting himself fall into the familiar ever-watchfulness that had been constantly needed before the War, reveling in the feeling. Others would have been glad to escape the hunted life that he had lived before Sauron fell, and he had, for a short while.  
  
But he found he missed that life. The constant danger was like a drug to his system, it made him feel alive. If he had been able to continue to live that life, while still being able to marry his love, he would have. But the Lord of Rivendell would allow his daughter to marry no less then a King, Aragorn thought wryly.  
  
As a wry smile to match his thoughts grew on his lips, he turned a corner only to have something small hurtle into him. Startled, Aragorn instinctively settled into a defensive crouch, then almost laughed at himself as he saw what had run into him. It was a young girl, no more then five, with tussled blond hair and blue eyes that showed fear as she looked up at him, wide-eyed.  
  
"Eli! Eli-" the other child's voice stopped working abruptly as he came around the corner of the house and saw the strange man standing in front of the girl. The boy eyed the stranger warily, ready to bolt or scream for help, but the man just smiled pleasantly, and would have moved on his way if it were not for the fact that the girl suddenly made him a deep curtsey. A curtsey so deep, it could only be for royalty. For the second time that day, Aragorn was startled, and it took him a moment to recover. When he did, he quickly motioned to the girl to straighten, but she seemed to have not seen. Glancing around, he scowled at the few passers-by that were starting to take notice of the scene.  
  
"There is no need for that, child." Aragorn said gruffly, turning his attention back to the girl. To his relief, she stood straight again, but she still stood with a respect that suggested she was not in front of a normal ranger. Stopping a low growl in his throat as he saw the curious glances being shot his way, he crouched down to take a better look at the girl. She looked back at him shyly, but her eyes were unfocused, and seemed to only have settled on the general area of his face, instead of on any specific feature. He realized with a start that the girl was mostly, if not completely, blind.  
  
"How did you recognize me?" Aragorn asked the girl curiously, and surprise flitted across the child's face before it returned to shy respectfulness as the she looked down.  
  
"Jahon pointed you out to me when you came into the city last year, Majesty." she mumbled, and Aragorn frowned, partly at the title, and partly because she had not truly answered his question.  
  
"And you recognized me even though I am dressed much differently?" he tried. Now it was the girl's turn to look at him curiously as she spoke.  
  
"You look the same to me, Majesty." she replied. Puzzled, Aragorn opened his mouth to ask what she meant by that, but the young boy that had been following the girl had finally plucked up his courage, and he now came up beside the girl and tugged at her sleeve.  
  
"Come on, Eli. You know Mum said you shouldn't talk to strangers." he said nervously, eyeing Aragorn with obvious fear.  
  
"But he's not a stranger! He's-" the girl started in protest, but knowing what was coming next and that she was speaking loud enough for passers-by to hear, Aragorn interrupted her with a shush.  
  
"Your mother is right, you shouldn't talk to strangers." he said, standing, and the girl looked at him in surprise. "Farewell." he said, nodding at the child, and strode off quickly, barely hearing the "Bye Mister Elessar!" that the girl shot after him as he slipped around the corner of a building and into shadow. Moving so quickly and silently that only Elvish senses would have been able to track him, Aragorn made him way back to the palace and slipped inside through the back door he'd found only a short time ago.  
  
Dropping his caution as he entered his private chambers, he frowned again as he thought of the girl. There was something strange about her. She was mostly blind, of that he was sure, and yet she recognized him when everyone else had not. Lost in his thoughts, he had not noticed that Arwen was in the chambers until he felt a light touch on his arm.  
  
"What troubles you, husband?" she asked in her musical voice, concern on her features.  
  
"Nothing, mélamin." he replied with a reassuring smile. She gave him a look, making sure he knew full well she knew he was lying before leaning against him with a happy sigh.  
  
"As you wish." was all she said, and Aragorn looked at her wryly. There were some disadvantages to having a half-Elven wife, he decided. Though he quickly forgot what those disadvantages were as Arwen began to loosen his belt with one hand while letting the other hand wander to...other parts.  
  
---  
  
"A girl, Your Majesty?" Grandor asked his king curiously.  
  
"She should be in the fourth ring of the city. She is blond haired and blue eyed, mostly blind, and goes by Eli." Aragorn elaborated, and the other ranger's curiosity increased.  
  
"What specifically did you want me to find out about her?" Grandor asked.  
  
"Anything." Aragorn replied with a slight frown. "She was able to recognize me as her King yesterday when I went out when no one else could." Grandor looked slightly surprised for a moment, then quickly filed the information away as his expression returned to the neutral one most rangers had.  
  
"I shall discover whatever there is to be discovered, Your Majesty." Grandor said after a moment, bowing.  
  
"Good. Start at once." Aragorn replied, and with another bow, Grandor turned and left. 


	2. To The Palace

Disclaimer: I own Eli and the particular way the words in this story are put together. Everything else, I don't own.  
  
Authors Note: OK, Aragorn has way too many fricking names. Aragorn, Elessar, Strider, Estel...blerg. I'm surprised he doesn't have identity problems yet...  
  
Thank-you to everyone who reviewed! Please continue to do so! Reviews really do help me keep going with a story. :) If I don't get reviews, I invariably stop writing...  
  
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-No Eyes Needed-  
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-Chapter II-  
-To The Palace-  
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Ranora had known something would come of Eli's talking to the Ranger that day. When Jahon had come home and reported that Eli had been speaking with stranger's again, Ranora's first response had been to scold her foster daughter. But when Eli insisted that the Ranger was really the King, Ranora had had to let up. The child was stubborn, and Ranora had long ago given up trying to change the her mind when she had decided something about someone. Still, Ranora instinctively knew that the incident was not at an end, and her instinct was proved right when one of her friends reported that a Ranger had been about, asking questions about Eli. The Ranger had soon had to leave the city, however, as rumours had started flying as to why he was asking after Eli. But Ranora knew that wasn't the end of it, and so she waited for something more to happen.  
  
But of all the things Ranora had expected to happen, she had NOT expected the Queen's personal handmaiden, Lady Mariwen, to come to her door with a request from the Queen to meet Eli.  
  
"Why?" was Ranora's first response, and then she blushed, knowing it was not her place to question the Queen's wishes. But the handmaiden just smiled, and then answered.  
  
"She has heard some interesting things about the child and would like to meet her herself to see if they are true." Lady Mariwen said. Ranora, still in shock, remained silent for a few moments, and the handmaiden took it as hesitation.  
  
"It will only be for an afternoon, and you do not need to come if you are too busy. I shall escort the child myself." Lady Mariwen encouraged.  
  
"No, there is no need for that. I shall bring Eli myself." Ranora said emphatically.  
  
"Good." Lady Mariwen said, smiling warmly. "Would tomorrow afternoon be all right?"  
  
"Of course." Ranora replied, returning the handmaiden's smile.  
  
"Wonderful. I shall be waiting for you at the gates." Lady Mariwen said as she rose, and Ranora followed the woman to the door. She said a polite goodbye and curtseyed to Lady Mariwen, who returned both before turning to her two guards and heading off. Ranora, in a daze, shut the door behind the handmaiden and went back to the main room where they'd been sitting. She stood in the doorway for a few moments, then strode into the kitchen and poured herself a small glass of her husband's best liquor, downing it in one gulp, and went to see what she and Eli had that would be suitable to wear for a visit to the Queen.  
  
---  
  
Ranora stopped just before the street leading to the Palace gates, running a critical eye over both herself and Eli, making sure they were presentable. Eli must have sensed that they were going somewhere important, however, and she had walked along calmly, holding Ranora's hand, without a single complaint or fidget, and she looked the same as when they had left the house. Now Ranora just hoped Eli would remain as calm inside the palace. The girl tended to be skittish around new people and in new places, but there was nothing Ranora could do about that now, other then give Eli a warning, and she'd already done that before they left the house.  
  
So now, certain that Eli and herself were as presentable as possible, Ranora stood, taking Eli's hand again, and led her around the corner and up the street to the Palace. As promised, Lady Mariwen was waiting at the gate, and with a warm smile for both of them, she quickly led them past the guards and into the palace. Leading them through a maze of hallways and rooms, the handmaiden finally stopped at a closed door.  
  
"Ready?" she asked Ranora and Eli with a smile, and Ranora took a deep breath and nodded, while Eli clung to her hand with wide eyes. Lady Mariwen smiled again, and then turned and knocked lightly on the door. A musical voice answered with a simple "Enter", and Lady Mariwen opened the door and ushered Ranora and Eli in.  
  
Once inside, Ranora held back a gasp. She'd seen the Queen once or twice before, but only from far away. Now she was standing no more then ten feet from Arwen Undómiel, and the beauty of the mortal half-Elven lady left her in awe. A small tug on her hand brought her back to the present, and she glanced down to see Eli curtseying deeply. Blushing slightly, she hastily followed suit.  
  
"Ranora and Elisandra Chastra, m'Lady." Lady Mariwen introduced, and Arwen smiled, hiding her slight surprise. She'd known what to expect for the child, Aragorn had let her look into his memories to see what Elisandra looked like, but she was quite surprised by the mother. Ranora Chastra was almost the complete opposite of her daughter, with tanned skin, black hair, and brown eyes. Her facial features were also very different, as was her bodies build, and Arwen wondered what Ranora's husband must look like for Elisandra to look as she did.  
  
"Rise." Arwen said smoothly, then motioned to the two chairs opposite her as the woman and child straightened. "Come and sit." Ranora led the Elisandra to one of the chairs, lifting her into it, and then sat in the other. The room was silent for a moment as Arwen inspected the two more thoroughly, noting with surprise that Elisandra met her gaze almost perfectly, though she knew that the child could not actually see her.  
  
"Fetch us some tea, Mariwen." Arwen told her handmaiden after a moment, and the lady curtseyed and left.  
  
"You are probably wondering why I asked you here." Arwen said, turning her attention back to the woman Ranora. Ranora nodded hesitantly.  
  
"I am, Your Majesty." she said, and Arwen steepled her fingers as she leaned slightly forward in her chair, much as she'd seen her father do many times before.  
  
"You have heard about my husband's meeting with your daughter?" Arwen asked, and a look of pure surprise passed over Ranora's face.  
  
"I had, Your Majesty, but if you will forgive me, I thought it no more then a child's tale." the woman replied politely.  
  
"It was not, obviously." Arwen said, smiling slightly as she saw the triumphant look on Elisandra's face as she looked at her mother. "And it has raised some questions. Elessar was dressed as a Ranger when he met her, and yet she still recognized him." Arwen let her voice go up slightly at the end, almost as if in a question, indicating that she wished Ranora to elaborate on the subject. But, to her surprise, it was Elisandra who spoke up.  
  
"He didn't look any different to me!" the child said, simply rephrasing what Aragorn had said the child had told him when he'd asked how she recognized him.  
  
"What do you mean?" Arwen asked curiously, turning her attention to the child. Elisandra wavered suddenly under Arwen's gaze, but then straightened and answered.  
  
"I saw him when he entered the city, and Jahon pointed him out to me. And he still looks the same." she replied, then added a belated "Your Majesty." Realizing that her current line of questioning was leading in circles, Arwen tried a different approach.  
  
"And what does he look like to you?" she asked. Elisandra looked at her in surprise, then hesitated and scrunched her brows together, as if trying to remember.  
  
"He looks - white. And bright green. And noble and wise." the child answered, frowning slightly, and Arwen's eyes widened a fraction. While she hadn't been expecting a normal description of her husband, she had also certainly not been expecting a rough description of his fëa, which, to her knowledge, only she had ever seen.  
  
At that moment, Mariwen returned with the tea, calmly setting it down on the table between the three chairs. Taking in Arwen's slightly stunned expression, Mariwen took over the roll of hostess, offering the tea to Ranora, who politely accepted, and then poured a cup for Arwen, gently putting it in her hands. Drawing in a shaky breath, Arwen sipped her tea, and let the smooth mint flavour calm her. Mariwen seemed to eye Arwen for a moment, and Arwen was obliged to smile reassuringly at her handmaiden before the woman relaxed.  
  
Turning her attention back to the two guests in front of her, Arwen kept the reassuring smile on her face as she saw Ranora's nervousness. Elisandra, surprisingly, looked concerned. Arwen looked back at the child over her cup of tea, and watched as the concern slowly turned to relief, and then Elisandra nodded, as if to herself.  
  
"Elisandra, what do you see when you look at me?" Arwen asked curiously as the child's face steadied into a patient expression. Elisandra, to her surprise, didn't even blink in surprise before replying.  
  
"Light. Evening. Age. Blue." the child seemed to be naming off things as she saw them, and looked as if she would continue with the list, but didn't, instead saying shyly, "There's more, but I don't know the words for them." It was enough for Arwen, however, to recognize her own fëa being described.  
  
"Has she always seen like this?" Arwen asked Ranora, and the woman started slightly at the attention suddenly being shifted to her.  
  
"No, Your Majesty. Two years ago, near the end of October, she got sick with a fever, and when she awoke she seemed to see nothing but living creatures." the woman replied.  
  
"What was the date, exactly?" Arwen asked, suddenly going still as she anticipated the answer.  
  
"When she fell sick? October the 25th, I believe. It was afternoon, and she suddenly just collapsed with a fever." Ranora answered, and Arwen sucked in a breath. Somehow she doubted it was a coincidence that the child lost her sight the same day that her father held his council to decide that fate of the One Ring. But she needed to be sure, first, that this sort of thing hadn't happened before.  
  
"Does she have a history of sickness?" Arwen asked, and Ranora glanced at the child, seemingly unsure for the first time.  
  
"Not that I know of, Your Majesty, but Elisandra has only been in my care for three years." Ranora replied after a moment.  
  
"She is your foster child?" Arwen asked, not in the least surprised after noticing the two's difference in looks.  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty. Her mother was a dear friend of mine, and when she died she asked me to take care of Eli. She was only two at the time, and close in age to one of my own children, and I readily agreed. I've raised her as my own ever since. Though Eli has always known that I'm not her real mother." Ranora replied. Arwen leaned back in her chair and sipped her tea again, inspecting Elisandra, who was fidgeting slightly, and ran over what she had found out about the child. As the girl began to look distinctly bored, Arwen came to a decision. She probably should have waited and talked it over with Aragorn first, but she knew he would agree with her in this case.  
  
"Mariwen, could you please take Elisandra to the gardens for a short while?" Arwen asked, and Mariwen nodded, reaching out a hand to Elisandra, who slid off her chair happily, curtseyed to Arwen, and then grabbed Mariwen's hand and let herself be led out. As soon as Mariwen's footsteps had faded from Arwen's hearing, she turned to Ranora, whose expression was a mixture of alarm and curiosity.  
  
"Ranora, Elisandra has a very unusual gift. What she described seeing Elessar and I as was very close to our fëa's - our souls." Arwen said, and Ranora gasped lightly, her eyes darting to the door through which Mariwen and Elisandra had left. "Tell me, do you know who her father was?" There was a pause as Ranora thought, but then she shook her head.  
  
"No, Your Majesty. I know her mother traveled quite a lot before she had Eli, but as far as I know, she was never married. It was quite a scandal when it was discovered that she was pregnant." Ranora said, and Arwen nodded thoughtfully. The was a moments silence before Arwen spoke again.  
  
"Ranora, I would like to foster Elisandra in the Palace, if it's possible. Her sight will be both a blessing and a curse to her as she grows, and I would like to help her learn how to deal with it. I'd also like my father to meet her." Arwen said, and then waited while the human woman recovered from her shock.  
  
"I'm sure Elisandra's mother would be honoured to have her daughter fostered here, Your Majesty!" Ranora finally said, looking a little dazed, and Arwen nodded, smiling.  
  
"When can you have her ready to move here? I would like it to be as soon as possible. Since she is blind, she will need time to learn her way around the Palace, and I would like her to do so while she is still young, as it will be easier then." Arwen asked.  
  
"I can have her ready within a week, Your Majesty." Ranora replied promptly, and Arwen nodded, putting down her tea.  
  
"Very well then." the Queen said, then rose as she continued. "Come, let us join Elisandra and Mariwen in the gardens." Ranora stood, and then fell into step behind Arwen as she left the room. 


	3. A New Mum and Da

Disclaimer: I own Elisandra and the particular way the words in this story are put together. Everything else, I don't own.  
  
Authors Note: OK. So, I didn't intend for this story to focus completely on Eli's childhood. I actually wanted to have the story focus on her when she's around 20 or so and Legolas shows up. But the way I started it out, it looks like the first several chapters will be about Eli's childhood...  
  
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-No Eyes Needed-  
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-Chapter III-  
-A New Mum and Da-  
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"You asked her mother to foster her here?" Aragorn asked in surprise, and Arwen nodded. "Isn't she a little young to be fostered?"  
  
"She has an unusual gift, Estel. The fact that she gained it the day of my father's Council only adds to that. I would like her to be here, where I can easily watch her. And she's already fostered to Ranora - her mother is dead, and no one knows who her father is." Arwen replied. Aragorn sighed.  
  
"Very well." he said, then added with a wry smile, "Though it's not like I have any say in it." Arwen laughed lightly before giving him a kiss on the cheek and heading towards the door. Once she reached said door, however, she stopped and turned around, as if suddenly remembering something.  
  
"Oh, and Estel? Could you send a messenger to my father and Lady Galadriel asking if they could come see the child before they goes West?" Arwen asked, and Aragorn nodded.  
  
"Of course." he said, and Arwen smiled again before leaving. Aragorn shook his head after she left, a small smile on his lips, before pulling out a piece of parchment to compose a note to Elrond and Galadriel explaining about the child and Arwen's wish for them to see her.  
  
---  
  
Elisandra arrived at the Palace, shy and nervous, six days later, in the late afternoon, accompanied by Ranora and her husband Faldor. The Queen met them in the courtyard with Mariwen and a few other handmaidens, and there Ranora said a tearful goodbye to her foster-daughter, while Faldor simply grunted out a few polite questions about where the child would be living and what she would be doing before being satisfied that she'd be safe and well cared for.  
  
Elisandra didn't cry when her foster mother of the last three years walked away, but Arwen could sense the sadness in the child. And so she was very gratified when the child turned to her and raised her arms for a hug, which, with a smile, Arwen gave. She ended out carrying Elisandra back into the Palace, as the girl had latched on and refused to let go. Arwen found it quite disconcerting, but the handmaidens just smiled knowingly.  
  
Elisandra remained latched onto Arwen until late that night, and occasionally while holding her, Arwen had felt a wetness against her neck, and knew Elisandra was crying. Then she had comforted the child as best she could, singing a lullaby in Elvish at one point when Elisandra's tears seemed to be particularly strong. Finally, though, the child slipped into sleep, and Arwen tucked her into her new bed in her large, sparsely furnished room. The room had been specially furnished with things that wouldn't hurt Elisandra if she ran into them, and had a sleeping couch in it for someone to sleep on at night, so that there would always be someone there and ready to guide Elisandra. The handmaidens were glancing at the couch now, seeming to have a silent discussion about who would stay there the first night, when Arwen spoke up.  
  
"Mariwen, she knows you, so you shall stay in the room with her tonight. Tomorrow, introduce her to everyone she will need to know." Arwen ordered. "She shall have lunch with Elessar and I." Mariwen nodded, then curtseyed to the Queen as she left the room. Smiling lightly at Elisandra's sleeping face as the other handmaidens followed the Queen, Mariwen brushed a stray hair off the child's face before settling herself on the sleeping couch.  
  
---  
  
Over the next four months, Elisandra slowly fit into Palace life. She took just as much a liking to Aragorn as she had to Arwen, and within a month, she was calling them Mum and Da, and acting as if they were the only parents she'd ever known. She also gained quite the following among the other children in the Palace, especially the boys. They all delighted in leading her wherever she wanted to go, enjoying the feeling of responsibility and often pretending they were Gondorian Knights escorting a high-ranking Lady.  
  
At first, Arwen had been leery about letting the children lead Elisandra about without adult supervision, fearing one of the children might take it into their head to lead Elisandra wrongly as a cruel joke. But it never happened, and the reason was discovered two months into Elisandra's stay at the Palace when she - unbeknownst to Aragorn and Arwen - followed the King and Queen as they went to give judgment on a recently captured supposed thief.  
  
It was a small trial, with only the King, Queen, the prisoner, several of the guard, and those witnesses that would be needed in the room. Elisandra managed to remain unnoticed in the doorway, hiding in the shadows and out of sight of both Aragorn and Arwen, the only ones that could have spotted her. And she remained there as the trial progressed, until the very end, when Aragorn pronounced the man guilty of thievery. Then, to everyone's surprise, she hurtled out of the doorway and jumped into Aragorn's lap.  
  
"He's not!" she announced, loudly enough for the entire room to hear. There was a moment of stunned silence, during which everybody blinked several times, hardly believing that a small girl had just come and told the King he was wrong in his judgment. Arwen, not surprisingly, was the first to recover, quickly followed by Aragorn.  
  
"Elisandra, what are you doing here?" the Queen scolded.  
  
"Watching." Elisandra replied blithely. "And he's not guilty!"  
  
"You mean the prisoner?" Aragorn asked as the rest of the room began to recover from it's shock. Elisandra nodded emphatically. Aragorn glanced at Arwen, who just raised an eyebrow.  
  
"How do you know this?" Aragorn asked the Elisandra, and she bit her lip, glancing back at the man, then leaned forward to whisper in the King's ear.  
  
"He looks it." she said, then sat back, watching Aragorn as he looked out at the prisoner. The man, in his patchy, run-down clothes and covered in dirt, didn't look innocent to Aragorn, but he knew first hand that looks could be deceiving. And Elisandra saw people's fëa's, not their actual looks. But all evidence pointed to the fact that the man was innocent. He couldn't change his pronouncement just because his five year old foster daughter announced that the man wasn't guilty.  
  
Then, suddenly, Elisandra was out of Aragorn's lap and standing in front of the prisoner, moving fast for someone essentially blind. The guards instantly moved to block the prisoner from being able to get to the girl, but she dashed around them and stood right at the feet of the man, who looked down at her with surprise. His surprise soon softened into a smile as she stood grinning up at him impishly.  
  
Then Elisandra made a motion for the prisoner to lean down, and he did, curious. The guards moved to stop the man, fearing for Elisandra's safety, but Aragorn waved them off. His instinct was telling him that Elisandra knew what she was doing, at least in part, and he had learned to trust his instinct.  
  
So they watched as Elisandra went up on her tippy-toes and whispered something in the mans ear. His eyes went wide, and he whispered something back to her. Glancing over at Arwen, Aragorn saw that she was straining her ears to hear what was being said, but she shook her head after a moment and leaned back.  
  
"She speaks to softly." Arwen said quietly to Aragorn. "I can only hear the prisoner's side, which is not much help." Aragorn nodded, and turned his attention back to Elisandra and the prisoner as they finished speaking. The man stood and watched thoughtfully as Elisandra dashed to the doorway, and then she turned and looked back at him pointedly.  
  
"You promised! Tell them!" she said, then waved cheerily and slipped out the door. There was a moments silence, and then Aragorn cleared his throat.  
  
"Tell us what?" he asked. The prisoner looked up, took a deep breath of air, and proceeded to explain that he had not broken into the victims home and stole their gold because he had been down in the lower circle of the city hiring a whore, very much the opposite of his previous story of staying at home. He gave the guards names of two people who could back up his story, and as the guards went off to find the two people, Arwen slipped out to find Elisandra. She found the child cautiously making her way down the hallway, running her hand along the wall while scuffing her feet to make sure she didn't trip over anything.  
  
"Eli." Arwen said, striding over to the child quickly. Elisandra looked up and smiled lightly.  
  
"Yes, Mum?" she asked.  
  
"How did you know?" Arwen asked, holding out a hand to the girl.  
  
"He looked it." Elisandra replied again, knowing instantly what Arwen meant as she took Arwen's hand and let herself be led down the hall.  
  
"What do you mean by 'he looked it'?" Arwen asked, heading in the general direction of Elisandra's room.  
  
"Well, he wasn't that good inside - not like you or Da - but he wasn't all bad, and he got really sad when Da said he was guilty." Elisandra frowned slightly as she answered, and then looked up at Arwen, suddenly wary. "Did I do something wrong?"  
  
"No, dear, you did something right." Arwen said reassuringly, giving Elisandra's hand a squeeze as she smiled down at her. "But tell me, how did you know he wasn't telling us the truth about where he'd been?" Elisandra thought for a moment, then shrugged.   
  
"I just did." she replied. At that point, a rather frantic-looking Mariwen turned the corner into the hallway, and the conversation was abruptly ended as the handmaiden lightly scolded Elisandra for running off on her. With profuse apologies to Arwen, Mariwen explained that she'd looked away for a second and the child had disappeared. Arwen told the handmaiden it was alright, and then let Mariwen take charge of Elisandra again before heading off to her chambers to think over the newest piece of knowledge about her foster daughter. That evening, Aragorn asked Elisandra to promise not to follow them into a judgment again unless he or Arwen asked her to, and to both his and Arwen's surprise, she readily agreed. 


	4. Meeting With Elves

Disclaimer: I own Elisandra and the particular way the words in this story are put together. Everything else, I don't own.  
  
Authors Note:  
Legolas is lazy. He has been hiding from my story for the past four chapters, but I'm getting out the cattleprod for chapter 5. So he's either going to have to get in the story or face the wrath of an author with a cattleprod...  
  
And for some other serious-like stuff, sorry for not updating for so long. I've actually had this chapter written since Thursday, but I lost the computer disk I have been keeping my story on, and thus, no new chapter. I'm going to keep backups on the computer from now on. Don't fancy the idea of having to re-write chapters. .  
  
Another serious-like note: Evenstar-Elfstone has asked if Eldarion is going to come into play in the story. I would very much love to bring him in. But I can't find a birthdate for him...I don't really need one, but I'd like to know if he has one before I give him one.  
  
One more serious-like note: Everybody say a big thank-you to LeL for agreeing to translate elvish for the story. The words used in this chapter were translated on my own, with my handy-dandy little (confusing) dictionary that I managed to find, but anything longer then single words is going to end out being translated by her...  
  
And for the last note, I'd like to apologize ahead of time for the hilarity in this chapter. Sounds strange, I know. But I'm well aware that Arwen, Elrohir, Elrond and Aragorn would probably act just a LITTLE more grown up around each other, considering they've all, except for Aragorn, lived several centuries - or millenium, in Elrond's case. And Aragorn's slowly approaching his first century. And yet, I found myself unable to write this chapter seriously. So you're left with goofy!ArwenAragornElrohirandElrond. Enjoy.  
  
I will now shut up and let you enjoy the chapter. And don't forget to review once you're done reading.  
  
------------------------------  
-No Eyes Needed-  
------------------------------  
-Chapter IV-  
-Meeting With Elves-  
------------------------------  
  
"Atar! [Father!]" Arwen cried happily, throwing decorum to the wind and giving her father a huge hug as he dismounted in the palace courtyard. Elrond was, to say the least, surprised, and it took him a few moments to return the hug.  
  
"Such poise from the Queen of Gondor!" Elrohir laughed as he dismounted and came up, and then let out an 'Oof!' as he found himself subjected to a hug, as well.  
  
"I am glad to see you, as well, yeldë [daughter]." Elrond said with amusement, and Arwen smiled back at him, then turned back to Elrohir as Aragorn came to greet Elrond.  
  
"Though it's no match for Arwen's greeting, atar, welcome back to Minas Tirith." Aragorn said, also amused, clasping hands with Elrond in greeting.  
  
"I doubt anyone could match Arwen's greeting, Elessar." Elrond said wryly, glancing over to where Arwen and Elrohir were now engaged in a lively conversation that seemed to have Elrohir getting whacked by Arwen every time he finished speaking.  
  
"She will miss you when you sail into the West." Aragorn said, suddenly grave, and Elrond nodded, smiling sadly.  
  
"I know." he said, suddenly sounding - and looking - very old and weary.  
  
"But now is not the time to talk of such things. You have only just arrived after a long journey." Aragorn said in an attempt to break the Elf Lords suddenly grey mood, and it seemed to work.  
  
"Híni [children]!" Elrond called, and Elrohir and Arwen instantly stopped talking to look at their father. "If you're quite done?" Elrond asked, arching an eyebrow. Arwen had the grace to blush slightly, while Elrohir just took the comment in stride, smiling and nodding as if being called into line by his father was an everyday occurance. Which, Aragorn realized wryly, it probably was, unless Elrohir and his twin had stopped their hijinks since the War ended.  
  
Arwen, however, quickly recovered from her embaressment and gathered her diginity, adopting a pose fit for the Queen of Gondor. She walked sedately over to Aragorn, taking his arm as he offered it, while Elrohir tried very hard not to laugh. Elrond seemed to be having trouble keeping a straight face, as well, and Aragorn knew that his smile had grown into something akin to a grin. The King was suddenly very glad that Elrond, Elrohir, and their escort had arrived so late at night - there was no one except the night guard and the few handmaidens that could be roused out of bed to see the very childish behavior of the siblings reunited. But then, he mused, they probably wouldn't have acted so childish if there had been more people watching.  
  
"Come, we'll lead you to your chambers so you can get some rest." Aragorn said, pulling himself out of his thoughts before the silence grew too long, and he and Arwen turned, heading into the Palace, Elrond and Elrohir following. The handmaidens were left to lead the elven escort to their lodgings for the night.  
  
---  
  
"So you say this child can see a being's fëa?" Elrond asked with curiosity, and Arwen nodded.  
  
"I also believe that she is, to some extent, empathic." Arwen added. It was noon the next day, and Arwen, Elrohir and Elrond were having lunch together in one of the Palaces many gardens. Aragorn was supposed to join them later, bringing Elisandra with him, so Arwen was telling her father all of what she had found out about the child.  
  
"How did you discover that?" Elrohir asked, curious.  
  
"She managed to follow Estel and I to a judgement, and when Estel pronounced the prisoner guilty, she promptly informed him that he was wrong. When I asked her how she knew later, she said, amoung other things, that the man had looked sad when Estel had announced his judgement." Arwen said, smiling slightly at the memory.  
  
"It makes sense." Elrond said thoughtfully. "Fëa's and emotions are very tightly linked. They play on each other, reflecting one another to shape a being's personality."  
  
"I remember grandmother saying something to that effect once." Arwen said, nodding.  
  
"Speaking of your grandmother, she sends her apologies for not being able to make it." Elrond commented. "But she is busy ordering the Elves of Lothlorien for their journey to the West, and could not leave."  
  
"It's quite alright, I can understand what a task that would be." Arwen said. "I'm glad that at least you, atar, were able to come." Elrond smiled sadly back at his daughter, and silence fell on the trio as their thoughts turned to the all too common topic - at least amoung the Elves - of the West and the Sea. The silence remained for quite some time, each Elf lost in their thoughts, until they heard the distinct sound of boots cruching on gravel as someone entered the garden. A child's laugh quickly followed the sound of the boots, and as one, the three Elves looked up with a smile as Aragorn entered, carrying Elisandra, the source of the laughter. She quickly quieted, however, when she saw Elrohir and Elrond, her eyes going wide as her mouth formed a tiny 'O' of surprise. Aragorn, who had told her who they were going to see, looked at the child in surprise, then concern as Elisandra burried her face in his neck.  
  
"Eli?" he asked.  
  
"He's bright!" came the muffled response from the child, and Aragorn arched an eyebrow as Elrond chuckled and Elrohir sniggered.  
  
"Didn't mother once say you were too smart for your own good?" Elrohir asked, and Elrond shot his son a look, which only succeeded in causing the Elf to collapse into laughter. Hearing a small giggle from Elisandra, Aragorn looked down just in time to see her bury her face in his neck again.  
  
"Come on, Elisandra." he said, gently prying the girl off him and setting her on the ground. Once there, she promptly dashed behind Arwen. Aragorn shook his head as he took his seat, watching as Elrohir, having gotten over his laughter, started making funny faces at Elisandra where he could see her behind Arwen's back. In no time, Elisandra's laughter was ringing throughout the garden, and she'd somehow made her way onto Elrohir's knee, apparently having adjusted to the brightness of Elrond's fëa.  
  
Elrohir was in the middle of telling an amusing story involving a horse and a dwarf when Elisandra, who had been giggling happily, suddenly glanced over at Elrond and sobered, tilting her head to one side in curiosity. Elrohir stopped telling the story, arching an eyebrow at Arwen and Aragorn as Elisandra continued to watch Elrond, who was watching Elisandra with as much curiosity as she was watching him. Arwen just shook her head at her brother, indicating that Elisandra had never acted like this before, and Elrohir was just about to speak to the girl when she spoke up.  
  
"She must be pretty." Elisandra said, cryptically.  
  
"She is." Elrond said with a sad smile, the only one who knew who Elisandra meant. Then Elisandra jumped off Elrohir's knee and clambered into Elrond's lap, reaching up and giving him a hug, which he returned. Breaking the hug, she sat down and proceeded to tell Elrond a rather amusing riddle. She continued telling amusing riddles, stories and jokes until, much to the surprise of Elrohir and Arwen, she had Elrond in stitches from laughter, something his children hadn't seen since their mother Celebrian had gone into the West, and Aragorn had never seen.  
  
Elrond, noticing the strange looks his children and Aragorn were giving him, leaned down and whispered something to Elisandra. She grinned, nodded, and then wiggled around in his lap so she was facing everybody else before proceeding to solemnly lecture them on the healing properties of laughter. They listened to her in shock as she used words no five year old should know, let alone be able to pronounce.  
  
"That one's too big." Elisandra said suddenly, stumbling over a particularily large word and looking up at Elrond with slight annoyance.  
  
"Sorry." he replied with a smile. "How about this one?" There was a pause, and then Elisandra nodded, and launched back into her lecture. Her audience, however, was not as rapt as they'd been before, having figured out the trick. Elrond was using his Elvish gifts to put the words of the lecture into Elisandra's mind, which she was saying outloud. Seeing that the trick had been discovered, Elrond ended the lecture with a nonsense sentence about Ringwraiths and purple trees, prompting Arwen and Elrohir to shake their heads in amusement while Aragorn arched an eyebrow.  
  
"That made no sense." Elisandra said, peering up at Elrond when she finished.  
  
"I know, but it seems they've found us out." he said, nodding his head towards the other three occupants of the room. Elisandra glanced at them, then shrugged, and suddenly yawned.  
  
"I'm sleepy." Elisandra announced.  
  
"Let's get you to your room for a nap, then." Arwen said, rising, but Elrond waved her off when she tried to take Elisandra from him, instead lifting the child himself as he stood.  
  
"I'll take her." he said, and Arwen nodded, then led the way for her father as they took Elisandra to her room. She was already asleep by the time they got there, and so Elrond lay her down gently in the bed before pulling up the blanket. Then he put his hand lightly over Elisandra's eyes, closing his own eyes, and concentrated for a moment. Underneath his hand, a light blue light shone for a moment, then flared white and flickered out. Elrond, frowning, drew his hand away and straightened, looking down at the child on the bed thoughtfully.  
  
"Atar?" Arwen asked softly, and Elrond shook himself out of his thoughts.  
  
"Let us return to Elrohir and Estel." he said. Arwen nodded, though she was obviously curious about what he'd done and what he'd learned. But she contained her curiosity as they returned to the garden where Aragorn and Elrohir were still sitting, now happily chatting away about - of all things - different kinds of fruit.  
  
"Did you get her settled?" Aragorn asked, spotting Arwen and Elrond as they returned, and Arwen nodded.  
  
"Poor girl was asleep before we reached her room." she said.  
  
"Well, it's tiring even for father to use his mindspeech." Elrohir said pointedly, but Elrond just absently smiled at his son as he and Arwen resumed their seats. Elrohir, catching his fathers mood, tilted his head slightly to one side.  
  
"What happened?" he asked.  
  
"This Ranora woman said that Elisandra collapsed with a fever and then lost her sight, Arwen?" Elrond asked, completely ignoring Elrohir's question for the moment.  
  
"She wasn't precise about what came first." Arwen said after a moments thought, and Elrond nodded.  
  
"Father?" Elrohir tried again as Elrond remained silent, seeming to think.  
  
"Elisandra's eyes are perfectly fine." Elrond said, stirring himself out of his thoughts. "But there is something else there, something much more powerful then I have ever felt, that is shifting her vision to what she sees now. It felt good, but I cannot be sure, as my encounter with it was much to quick and I was too surprised by it's power to notice much else."  
  
"So her sight is intentional?" Aragorn asked, and Elrond nodded.  
  
"It is. She was given it for a reason. What that reason is, I do not know." he replied.  
  
"Though I wouldn't want to inflate Estel's sense of self-importance anymore, is it possible that she was given it to help him?" Elrohir asked.  
  
"How so?" Aragorn asked with curiosity.  
  
"Well, Arwen said that Elisandra knew someone was innocent when you pronounced him guilty. Perhaps she was given her sight for that very purpose - to help you deal out judgement correctly." Elrohir replied. "Also, since she sees only a person's fëa, not what they look like, she would make a spectactular bodyguard." The others at the table looked at Elrohir in surprise, and he grinned at them. "What? I can think when I want to." he said impishly, and Aragorn chuckled.  
  
"So you can." Elrond said with a small smile. "But though that sounds very logical, I don't believe that's why Elisandra was given her strange form of sight. It is, however, something to keep in mind for once she's grows up, so she doesn't feel useless. Being unable to see, she's not going to be able to do a lot of things others can." Arwen and Aragorn nodded at almost the same time, both with thoughtful expressions on their faces.  
  
"I know you're married, but you two need to stop spending so much time together." Elrohir said with a shake of his head, then looked defensive as Arwen hit him lightly on the shoulder. "What? It's true! When you start making the same expressions at the same time, you know you've been spending too much time around someone!"  
  
"You're just jealous you haven't found someone to spend enough time with to start making the same expressions at the same time." Arwen retorted.  
  
"Of course I haven't found someone to make the same expressions at the same time with, I was born with someone who does that naturally. Two making the same expression at the same time is bad enough, think how creepy three would be." Elrohir said, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"As I recall, for awhile there WAS three." Elrond said dryly, looking pointedly at Aragorn.  
  
"That was because of a dare." Aragorn retorted.  
  
"That's always your excuse. If we listened to you, we'd be thinking that everything interesting you did as a child was because of a dare." Elrohir said, then paused and added with a smirk, "Good thing we don't listen to you." At that, Aragorn arched an eyebrow, and straightened in his chair, suddenly adopting his I-am-a-King air.  
  
"Oh really now." he said, his voice dripping with authority.  
  
"Well, maybe sometimes." Elrohir relented, then grinned, and Aragorn relaxed. There was a short silence as they looked at each other across the table, and then they starting sniggering. Arwen shook her head.  
  
"I think it's time to end this lunch." she said.  
  
"I agree." Elrond said dryly, standing.  
  
"Was that what this started out as? Lunch?" Elrohir asked, glancing up at the sky as everyone else stood. "Seems like it went a little long." he said cheerfully, also standing, and everyone else looked up to notice that the sky was starting to darken already.  
  
"That it has." Elrond replied, and then they walked out of the garden to find several messengers waiting with messages for all of them, and they went their seperate ways. 


	5. The Nancing Mirkwood Elf Arrives

Disclaimer: I own Elisandra and the particular way the words in this story are put together. Everything else, I don't own.  
  
Authors Note: B sharp. No, wait, C flat. Or maybe an F-chord...but that's more then one note. So we'll just stay with C flat...  
  
And if you're wondering where that came from, it came from the fact that I have a cold that's making me think funny. It's also impeding my creative writing abilities, so I apologize in advance for however long it takes me to upload my next chapter.   
  
Also, must thank all my reviewers. And remind everybody who's reading this to REVIEW! Even if it's just to comment on my authors note, review! Reviews are my lifeblood...without them, or with too few of them, my stories die...  
  
------------------------------  
-No Eyes Needed-  
------------------------------  
-Chapter V-  
-The Nancing Mirkwood Elf Arrives-  
------------------------------  
Time passed in Minas Tirith, and in the world around it. The Lady Elisandra, foster daughter of the King and Queen, grew up - quite literally. By the time she reached her sixteenth birthday, she found herself even in height with King Elessar, who was the tallest of all those in Minas Tirith. She also found herself with a little brother - a flesh son of the King and Queen, named Eldarion. He was born when she was 10, and, much to the dismay of her foster parents, the difference in age drove her away from her brother instead of drawing her closer to him.  
  
But then, as she grew, Lady Elisandra drew away from all but the King or Queen, throwing herself into her work instead of forming relationships. Her beauty had grown as she had, so much so that some said she now rivalled an Elven maiden in beauty, but even the sudden attentions of many Lords from various places was not enough to draw her to socialize more then she had to.  
  
The reason for this was her sight. It was, as the Undómiel had said, both a blessing and a curse. She was able to see feelings in people that they would have otherwise kept hidden, and while it helped her in her appointed duty of protecting King Elessar, it did not help to form relationships, of the romantic kind or not. So she focused on her work. She was an advisor to King Elessar, the youngest he had, and she took the job seriously. She also aided the King's bodyguard in spotting those that wished him harm, and several attempts to end the King's life were stopped before they even really began because of her.  
  
And so she lived, content because she knew no other life, protecting her father the King, advising him in matters of justice, and growing unaturally wise for her years.  
  
---  
  
Legolas smiled as he reached the top of the last hill before the Pelennor Fields began and spotted Minas Tirith. The city had been within Legolas's sight since yesterday evening, starting out at a white speck on the horizon, but now it had grown. It was no more then an hours ride away, and before starting that ride, Legolas sat on his horse on the hill, and scanned the city that he had not seen in close to fifteen years. He noted how much more alive the city looked then when he had last seen it, with more green visible, along with other colours, and he smiled again. Time had deffinately been good to Minas Tirith, he thought as he rode down the hill, heading for the City's gates.  
  
He hadn't sent a messenger ahead to inform King Elessar of his visit, preferring to surprise his old friend, so as he drew closer to the city, he pulled his hood forward to hide his features. He expected to have to pull the hood back and declare himself when he reached the gate, but to his surprise, the guards let him pass without a challenge. And then, glancing down at his horse, Legolas almost laughed at himself. Of course the guards had let him pass - he was riding bareback on a clearly high-quality horse. What else could he be but an Elf? And Elves were always welcome in Minas Tirith.  
  
Chuckling to himself inside, Legolas rode up through the various rings of the city until he reached the Palace. There he was greeted with the expected challenge.  
  
"Halt and declare yourself and your business!" the guard ordered. Legolas pretended to ponder this for a moment, then flung back his hood and drew himself up.  
  
"I am Prince Legolas Greenleaf of Erys Lasgalen. I have come to see the King." he said, and the guards instantly straightened, moving out of his way. They saluted him respectfully, and he nodded to them before urging his horse into the courtyard of the palace. Once inside, he dismounted, and grooms came and took his horse. He went up the steps to the Palace, where he paused to ask the guards where he could find the King.  
  
"His Majesty is holding court at the moment, m'Lord." the guard answered respectfully. Legolas almost corrected the guard as to his title, but decided it really didn't matter, anyways, so with a nod of thanks, he went inside, following the main corridors until he came to the main court. At the doors, Legolas found his way barred again.  
  
"Declare yourself and your intentions in the court of His Majesty King Elessar." the guards at the door said. Legolas repeated what he'd told the guards outside the palace, and one of the guards slipped inside the doors behind him. He returned a moment later, and motioned for Legolas to follow him. He did so, and as he entered behind the guard, Legolas heard the herald announcing him.  
  
Glancing up at the throne on which King Elessar sat, Legolas saw, to his satisfaction, surprise flicker across his friends face before he smiled. Rising, the King greeted Legolas formally, welcoming him to Minas Tirith, and managing to politely scold him for not sending a messenger ahead so they could have rooms ready. Legolas replied with the same formality, apologizing and giving some inane excuse for not sending a messenger ahead. The King motioned to someone in the hall, and after a few more formal words exchanged, Legolas was obliged to let himself be led out of the court by a young lady.  
  
Walking in silence, Legolas absently observed the hallways as they went through them, then, growing bored of that, studied the lady that was his guide. He had been slightly surprised that it was a lady that Aragorn had assigned to guide him, and now, as he studied her more closely from the back, he was even more surprised. She was obviously of noble upbringing, carrying herself with the authority of one born to power, and the quality of her clothes showed that she still had that power.  
  
But even more noticable were her looks. Unlike most everyone else in Minas Tirith, she had blond hair. She was also unusually tall, coming to just under Legolas's nose - the same height as Aragorn. More then that, Legolas couldn't see because her back was turned to him, but he wondered if this could be the foster daughter that Aragorn had told him about. He remembered Aragorn telling him of the girls unusual looks for a Gondorian, and the lady before him certainly had those. But Aragorn had told Legolas that his foster daughter was blind, and the lady leading Legolas certainly wasn't behaving like a blind person. And, as they entered a garden and the lady turned to face him, he looked at her eyes and saw that they were quite normal - though also quite blue, another abnormality for a Gondorian.  
  
"You shall have to wait here until rooms are prepared." the lady said, not noticing Legolas's quick scrutiny of her, and Legolas nodded and bowed slightly.  
  
"Thank you, m'Lady." he said, and the lady smiled back at him.  
  
"It wasn't any trouble. But now, if you'll excuse me, I shall arrange for your rooms to be prepared and return to the court." she said.  
  
"Of course." Legolas said with a smile.  
  
"A servant shall come and get you when your rooms are ready." the lady said, gave a small curtsey, and left. Legolas watched as she left the garden, then turned his attention to his surroundings. Noting the age of the trees, Legolas sighed as he realized he wouldn't be able to climb in them without fear of hurting either the trees or himself. Instead, he sat on the ground underneath the nearest tree, and let himself relax as he waited for his rooms to be readied.  
  
---  
  
Elisandra alerted the servants to ready Prince Legolas's rooms, then returned to the court. Once inside, she stood by the doors and watched the small sea of people that were in the court. Her eyes flickered from familair fëa to familair fëa, mentalling making a note of who was there. She noticed that several of the more important Lords and Ladies, who hadn't deigned to show up for such an unimportant thing as a common court, were now present.  
  
And they'd brought with them their eligable daughters, hope sparkling in both the daughters and their fëa's. Elisandra suppressed a smile at that. What did they think would happen? That their daughters might ensnare the Elven Prince? Only three times in the history of Middle-Earth had an Elf married a Human - and one such married couple was sitting upon their kingdoms thrones. Such a marriage would not be likely to happen again for a very long time. And since the Elves were slowly, but surely, leaving Middle-Earth, it was unlikely that another such marriage would EVER happen.  
  
Besides that, Elisandra thought as she scanned the fëa's of the eligable daughters that were present, none of them looked like they would be any match for the Prince. His fëa had been incredibly strong - so much like what she remembered of her grandfathers, only different. Now turning her thoughts to the Prince's fëa, Elisandra frowned slightly, remembering the start she'd gotten when he'd walked in.  
  
Though Elves were always welcome in Minas Tirith, Elisandra had not seen very many of them. Most of what she had seen of them had been quick glimpses as they came or left, and those were mostly messengers. Except for her mother, who didn't really appear as an Elf as she'd given up her immortality, Elisandra hadn't seen an Elf up close since her grandfather had visited her so many years ago. And he was Half-Elven.  
  
So it had been a great shock to her when she realized she was able to see Prince Legolas's features clearly, almost as if she could see again. It had been such a strange thing, to be used to living in darkness with only bundles of light of varrying strengths representing the people around you, and then to have someone walk in suddenly who you could see perfectly. The only sign that it was his fëa she was seeing, and not his actual physical body, was the golden-green glow that surrounded him. It gave him an etheral quality, and accented his features. Closing her eyes to block out the rest of the room, Elisandra concentrated on her memory of Prince Legolas's features.  
  
He was tall, one of the few beings she'd ever met that was taller then her, and he had an amazingly slender build for it. Yet he moved with a grace and agility that betrayed the strength he was gifted with as one of the Elven-kind. And his face held that same strength, though Elisandra had a feeling that was more from his upbringing and past then simply due to his being an Elf. He was a Prince and a warrior, and showed it, in the set of his jaw, the way he carried himself, the expression on his face.  
  
A smile twitching on her lips, Elisandra recalled Legolas's face. She had very few memories from when she could see, and all of them were hazy, but she knew without a doubt that Legolas was uncommonly handsome. Strong cheekbones and jaw, intelligent blue eyes, elegantly pointed ears, all framed by smooth-looking blond hair, held in place with simple braids.  
  
Absorbed in her memories, and with her eyes closed, Elisandra didn't realize that her father had ended court until she heard a throat being cleared close by. Snapping her eyes open, Elisandra was startled to discover that the hall was now almost completely empty.  
  
"And what would you be thinking about that would bring such a smile to your lips, Eli?" Aragorn asked with amusement.  
  
"'Tis nothing, father." Elisandra replied smoothly, letting her expression slip into it's accustomed neutral one. She saw emotions skitter through her father's fëa, but they were gone to quickly for her to recognize them. That was one of the things she liked about her father and mother - they were able to hold their emotions in check while talking with her, so she couldn't guess what they were going to say next, unlike most everybody else.  
  
"Very well. Shall we go?" Aragorn asked, and Elisandra felt her father's light touch on her arm. Looping her arm through his, Elisandra let herself be led from the hall. 


	6. Lost In Your Own Home

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Despite a fever, dentists, parents, schoolwork, a lingering cough, and other unsavory things, I am BACK! So, here's chapter six...A rather calm chapter, but then, I'm in a rather calm mood...And if parts of it don't make sense, blame me being sick!  
  
Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Cat...three reviews for one chapter...wow. And don't worry, I'm gonna take it gradual in the love story part department. At least as much as I can. I have long held that I am horrible at writing romance. This FanFiction is an attempt to change that...we'll see how well I do.  
  
Also thanks to:  
  
Lel Vagor - I'll have some Elvish for you to translate sometime...really  
  
lausie - Elisandra's father is my little secret until the time comes to reveal it. But lets just say it's somebody familair...  
  
Evenstar-Elfstone - Glad you liked the chapter title...just don't hurt yourself laughing. Then I'd be down a reviewer, and that's never good. :P  
  
Duke Storm - Well, here's another long, if not so wacky, author's note for you to enjoy...  
  
and Legolas Greenleaf, Aislin and Artemis-chan!  
  
Now, onto the chapter, and remember - it's all about the pointy ears and reviews! So remember to review!  
  
------------------------------  
-No Eyes Needed-  
------------------------------  
-Chapter VI-  
-Lost In Your Own Home-  
------------------------------  
  
Carefully counting her steps, and where they turned, Elisandra was only slightly surprised to realize that they were headed for the rooms she'd had the servants ready for Prince Legolas. Not knowing how long she'd been wrapped up in her memories of the Prince's fëa, Elisandra wondered if Legolas would even be there. She'd apparently been thinking a good time, however, as when she and her father reached Legolas's rooms, they found him thoroughly settled.  
  
His few belongings having been brought up from his horse, he now seemed to be exploring the rooms. Glancing up as Elisandra and her father entered the room, Legolas smiled, and Elisandra found that simple thing fascinating. She was used to seeing a smile as a mix of emotions, not as an actual expression on a face in front of her. But her attention was quickly pulled away from Legolas's smile as her father let go of her arm and strode over to the Prince.  
  
"It's good to see you again, Legolas!" Aragorn said warmly, clasping his friends hand in welcome.  
  
"It is good to see you again, as well." Legolas replied, then his gaze turned to Elisandra. "But who is this lovely lady you have brought with you? She escorted me to a garden to wait for my rooms to be prepared, but I was not able to catch her name."  
  
"This, my friend, is Elisandra." Aragorn replied, motioning Elisandra to join them, and as she did, she saw some pride enter into the emotions and colours of her fathers fëa, causing her to blush slightly.  
  
"Ah, the infamous foster-daughter." Legolas said, nodding. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last." Then, much to Elisandra's embarrassment, the Prince bowed slightly, took her hand, and kissed it lightly. It wouldn't have been that bad if she had been expecting it, but she had seen no warning in the Prince's fëa that he would do any such thing. Elisandra recovered quickly, however, and smiled back at the Prince, nodding slightly.  
  
"It is a pleasure to meet you, as well. I have heard much about you." she said.  
  
"That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you have heard." Legolas said dryly, and Elisandra saw a child-like mischievousness enter her fathers fëa.  
  
"Oh, I've left all the really bad stories for Gimli to tell." Aragorn said. "Besides, until very recently, most of them probably would have given her nightmares..."  
  
"They would not have, father." Elisandra said defensively, though she grinned as she said it, seeing the teasing in her fathers fëa.  
  
"Yes they would have. They gave some of the hobbits nightmares. Though none of them admitted it, of course." Aragorn said.  
  
"Of course not." Legolas replied, sitting and motioning for Elisandra and her father to take seats. They did so, though Elisandra had to pull herself away from the conversation for a moment to remember the way the room was set up and figure out where the chair was. Her brief distraction caused her to lose her place in the conversation, and her father and Prince Legolas were off talking about their friends, the hobbits. Elisandra had had marginal dealings with hobbits, since her mother had a hobbit handmaiden, but that hobbit was female. And so Elisandra listened quietly, absorbing the stories, most of which she'd heard before, while watching the expressions flit across Legolas's face. Just about the time Elisandra was finally starting to tire of listening to her father and Prince Legolas chat away about old times, there was a knock on the door, and Elisandra's mother swept in.  
  
"Legolas!" Arwen said as she came in, and Legolas rose gracefully from his chair, bowing as he rose in a smooth movement.  
  
"Undómiel." he said respectfully, but then ruined it by grinning. Elisandra's mother returned the grin, and then she gave Legolas a polite hug, much to his surprise.  
  
"It has been far to long since you were last here." she said.  
  
"So I keep being told." Legolas replied.  
  
"Then perhaps you will be making up for it by staying for an extended length of time?" Arwen hinted heavily, and Legolas grinned again.  
  
"Until I get dragged back to Ithilien, Your Majesty." he said with another bow.  
  
"Wonderful. Then you'll be staying long enough for a proper welcoming feast." Arwen said, taking a seat, and Elisandra's eyebrows shot up as she saw the mischievousness that was now taking over her mothers fëa. Even more interesting was the way Legolas's face fell into mock horror as he resumed his seat.  
  
"Perhaps I should have stayed in Ithilien after all." he said gravely.  
  
"If you'd stayed there much longer, I would have fetched the hobbits and Gimli and dragged you out of there." Aragorn said with a snort, and Elisandra held her hand over her mouth to hide a smile when she saw that her father was partly serious.  
  
"Gimli beat you to it, I am afraid." Legolas said flippantly. "He came for a visit grumbling that I never went to visit him, always made him come visit me, and then promptly dragged me off on a tour of the Dwarven realms."  
  
"He obviously had the right idea." Aragorn said dryly. At that moment, there was a light knock on the door, and one of the palace pages appeared when Legolas called out to enter. The page, more then a little nervous at all the people in the room, bowed, and then hurried to Aragorn, where he bowed again and handed him a note. Aragorn read the note quickly, then dismissed the page and stood.  
  
"I would dearly love to talk with you more, Legolas, but my Kingdom calls." he said as everyone else followed suit and stood. Legolas nodded, shook hands with his friend once again, and then gave Arwen a peck on the cheek and briefly squeezed Elisandra's hand in goodbye before leaving.  
  
"I must be going, as well, I'm afraid. I need to get started on organizing your welcoming feast, Legolas. Perhaps you can get Elisandra to show you around the palace." Arwen said once her husband left, and then she hugged Legolas again, gave Elisandra a kiss on the cheek, and left as well. Once she was gone, Legolas turned to Elisandra and arched an eyebrow. Elisandra knew only too well what was on his mind.  
  
"They tend to forget sometimes that I can't see." she said dryly. "I can find someone else to show you around if you'd like, though." Legolas, however, shook his head. Elisandra was suddenly glad she could see him, as it was always awkward to remind people that she couldn't see simple gestures like that. But then, she usually guessed that they had been made due to the look of someone's fëa.  
  
"I can find my way around good enough, even after 15 years. What I am more interested in, I have a feeling you are the best one to help me with." Legolas said, drawing Elisandra's attention back to him.  
  
"And what would that be?" Elisandra asked.  
  
"Knowing who to avoid at this feast your mother is going to insist on holding!" Legolas said emphatically, and Elisandra laughed.  
  
"Very well then." she said. Legolas moved as if to take his seat again, but then stopped, seeming to think of something, and instead offered his arm to Elisandra.  
  
"Shall we walk as we talk?" he asked.  
  
"If you think you can not get lost." Elisandra replied with amusement, looping her arm through Legolas's.  
  
"I promise I shall not." he said solemnly, though he had a lop-sided grin on his face. And so they set off. They were silent for the first little while, and then they ran into a Lord, and Elisandra was obliged to introduce him to Legolas. After a brief chat, they moved on, and Elisandra filled Legolas in on the background of the Lord, and from there the conversation grew.  
  
So the afternoon went - Legolas steered the two of them through various corridors, listening intently to what Elisandra had to say, asking questions occasionally, while Elisandra told him all about the different Lords and Ladies in Gondor. Between telling Legolas about the different Lords and Ladies, introducing him to a few of them, and watching Legolas with curiosity out of the corner of her eye, Elisandra had soon lost track of where they were. And so, it became apparent, had Legolas.  
  
"It feels late." Elisandra said suddenly as they walked, in a moment of quiet in their conversation. They had entered a garden a short while ago, and as they walked, Elisandra had suddenly noticed that the sun wasn't very warm on her back - as if it was beginning to set.  
  
"It is." Legolas replied promptly.  
  
"I should get back to my chambers to prepare for supper, then." Elisandra said. "And I have a feeling you should, as well."  
  
"Hm, I should. And I would, if I knew then way." Legolas said sheepishly.  
  
"So much for your promise not to get lost." Elisandra said, rolling her eyes, and Legolas grinned at her.  
  
"I am afraid I was distracted by the beautiful lady on my arm." Legolas said, still grinning, and half-bowed to Elisandra, who tsked at him.  
  
"Flattery, my dear Prince, does not work on me." she said.  
  
"Indeed?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as they continued to walk. "And why is that?"  
  
"Because I do not care for it." Elisandra replied. "Flattery is, by definition, false. And who wants false compliments?"  
  
"Hm, do you want an answer to that?" Legolas asked dryly. At that moment, a palace guard came around the corner on patrol, and Legolas and Elisandra's conversation was put on hold to ask directions. The guard, Elisandra saw, found it quite amusing to give directions to someone who had lived there since she was 5, but thankfully said nothing about it.  
  
The guard also informed them of the time, and Elisandra discovered it was much later then she'd thought. Supper would be soon. After leaving the guard, Legolas and Elisandra, by silent agreement, sped through the corridors as fast as they could while still managing to walk. Legolas seemed surprised at how fast Elisandra could walk, and commented on it.  
  
"Makes up for it being too dangerous for me to run." Elisandra replied with a grin, and Legolas nodded. They reached Elisandra's chamber first, and quickly, and then with a bow, Legolas bid Elisandra goodbye until supper, and sped off to his own chambers.  
  
Elisandra, entering her chambers, was immediately set upon by her maids, who fussed over how little time she'd given them to prepare her. Elisandra apologized, and then let the maids go about the work of preparing her. They were done fairly quickly, and then shooed her out the door, saying that she was already late. And, arriving at the dining hall, Elisandra discovered that she was indeed late. Prince Legolas, she noticed dryly, had managed to make it on time.  
  
"A little late, are we, Elisandra?" Arwen commented blandly as Elisandra slipped into her seat beside her mother.  
  
"It wasn't I who got lost and then neglected to notice the time." Elisandra replied just as blandly.  
  
"Oh? Who's fault was it?" Arwen asked, curiosity tingeing her fëa. Looking a little closer, Elisandra also saw a hint of hope, and she shook her head, half-smiling. Her mother may understand why she drew away from everyone else and avoided relationships, but that didn't mean she ever stopped hoping Elisandra would develop an interest in someone.  
  
"Prince Legolas." Elisandra replied, and she saw the hope disappear from her mothers fëa. They both turned to their food, then, and let the conversation drop.  
  
The rest of the meal passed in silence for Elisandra, as her mother talked with her father or Prince Legolas, who was seated by Aragorn, two seats away, and Eldarion had gone to bed early, thus leaving the seat next to Elisandra empty. As soon as the meal ended, Elisandra excused herself, not waiting to see if there would be dancing. Instead, she returned to her room, where she had one of her maids read some of a book about Numenor before going to bed. 


	7. Kids in the Hall

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Hee, ah, sorry for the long time between updates...My life got kind of busy, and I temporarily lost interest in the story...(I think I'm on review withdrawl from SiME :P ) But I've got my muse back, so the story is being written again, albeit slowly...  
  
Also, little mistake, I said earlier, right after Legolas showed up, that Elisandra hadn't seen many Elves. I now specify that to full elves...because, as long as they're still in Middle-Earth, Elrohir and Elladan are gonna come visit their sister, yes? So we'll just pretend that I mentioned that...  
  
------------------------------  
-No Eyes Needed-  
------------------------------  
-Chapter VII-  
-Kids in the Hall-  
------------------------------  
For the next several days, Elisandra saw no more of the palace's Elven guest. A group of raiders that had been threatening Gondor's border towns for the past few months decided that that week was the perfect time to start raiding in ernest, and Elisandra and her father were kept busy dealing with that, as well as other little judgments closer to home. So Elisandra's days were kept busy. And in the evenings, instead of going to visit with Prince Legolas as her father did, Elisandra was obliged to help her mother with planning Legolas's welcoming feast.  
  
So it wasn't until the day of Legolas's welcoming feast that Elisandra saw him again, and then it was by complete accident. Elisandra, delivering a message for her father, turned a corner and literally ran into the Prince. Elisandra knew instantly who she'd run into and smiled slightly, but Legolas started to mumble apologies before he noticed who he had run into and grinned.  
  
"Lady Elisandra." he said with a slight bow. Elisandra raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"I believe I should be the one doing that to you?" she said, but Prince Legolas just shrugged.  
  
"It matters not." he said.  
  
"Very well." Elisandra said, not about to argue further as she had a message to deliver. "But now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be, and I'm sure you do, as well." Elisandra made as if to move past Legolas, but he ignored the movement.  
  
"Actually, Minas Tirith seems to have gotten quite boring since I was last here." Legolas commented, looking around thoughtfully.  
  
"Maybe because last time you were here you were with the Dwarf Gimli?" Elisandra said.  
  
"Probably." Legolas said with an impish grin. "But you said you have someplace to be."  
  
"Yes, I need to deliver a message." Elisandra said, then immediately wondered why she was explaining herself to the Prince.  
  
"Well then, may I follow?" Legolas asked. Elisandra considered this for a moment. It wasn't a very important message, nor in any way sensitive. The only reason her father had sent her with the message was because it was to a rather high ranking Lord, and her father wanted to boost this particular Lord's sense of self-importance for the time being. And if Legolas accompanied Elisandra, the Lord's sense of self-importance would shoot through the palace roof - just what her father wanted. Elisandra grinned.  
  
"Sure." she said, and Legolas smiled happily as she set off again, this time with him in tow. There was silence for the first few minutes, and then Elisandra asked the Prince how he was liking the Lords and Ladies of Minas Tirith.  
  
"The Lords are fine, as are the older Ladies. The younger Ladies, however -" At this, the Prince shuddered, and Elisandra chuckled. "I swear they pay the palace guards to tell them where I am. Especially when I want to be alone."  
  
"They probably do." Elisandra said dryly. "At least, the majority of the guards have been looking smugger then usual for the past few days." Legolas looked at Elisandra and blinked. "Well, you don't think they'd risk having to explain to their fathers where all their gold that they were supposed to be spending on dresses was going, do you?" Legolas shook his head.  
  
"That they would pay in that manner never occurred to me." he said. "Up until now, I have been ignoring them as best I can and not saying anything, but perhaps I should say something..."  
  
"Oh, let them make fools of themselves for now. Just don't dance with any of them at the feast, and they should mostly leave you alone afterwards." Elisandra commented.  
  
"The mostly in that sentence worries me." Legolas said. Elisandra laughed.  
  
"There will be a few higher-ranking ones who will refuse to give up, as well as one or two of the more desperate, and maybe a few with too much pride for their own good." she said, then grinned. "Shouldn't be more then ten." Legolas groaned, causing Elisandra's grin to widen. Then they'd reached the Lords chambers, and Elisandra schooled her expression to a politely neutral one, then paused, trying to remember where the door was. But, to her surprise, before she could remember, Legolas reached over and knocked lightly on the door. She glanced at Legolas in surprise, and he grinned briefly at her before his face slipped into a politely neutral one. Elisandra quickly looked to the door and adopted the same look as a servant appeared in what she assumed was the doorway.  
  
"Yes?" the servant asked, then made a hasty bow. "Lady, Highness."  
  
"I have a message for Lord Farqua." Elisandra said authoratively. The servant bowed again, holding open the door for them to enter. Legolas, without any prompting, took Elisandra's arm and escorted her to a seat. It wasn't really needed, Elisandra had been to Lord Farqua's residence before with her father and knew the room's layout, but she was thankful all the same. The fact that Legolas acted as if it was a completely normal thing to do also stopped him from being on the receiving end of the annoyed look Elisandra usually shot Lords who tried to do such a thing to her.  
  
"M'Lord will be out in a moment, Lady, Highness." the servant said nervously once both Elisandra and Legolas were seated, then hurried off. Elisandra hid a smile as she watched the servants fëa disappear through a door.  
  
"Surprise, shock and nervousness are three emotions I shall never tire of seeing skitter through a beings fëa. Especially all together." she said softly to Legolas, and the Prince chuckled lightly.  
  
"Indeed?" he asked. Elisandra was stopped from answering, however, as Lord Farqua swept into the room at that moment. Elisandra smiled at how quickly he had come, and then stood at the same time as Legolas, both of them nodding as Lord Farqua bowed slightly to them.  
  
"Lady, Highness. Welcome." he said. Elisandra saw nervousness skittering through his fëa, as well as pride, and pleasure. There were other emotions, too, some of them less then savory, but Elisandra ignored them - they were so far into the core of his fëa, they could only be the results of subconscious or severely suppressed thoughts, anyways. Pushing her thoughts aside, Elisandra said a polite hello to Lord Farqua, and after a minimal amount of pleasantries, delivered her message, and then took her leave of the Lord, Legolas following.  
  
"Well, he fairly swelled." Legolas said dryly.  
  
"That was the point." Elisandra said. "Father needs him to get a slightly swelled head at the moment."  
  
"I can not imagine how having a lord with a swelled head on your hands could be good." Legolas commented.  
  
"Lord's who think much of themselves are more given to granting favors of large things." Elisandra answered.  
  
"Hm." Legolas said, and the two fell into silence as they walked.  
  
"So, tell me, why shall you never tire of seeing surprise, shock and nervousness in a beings fëa?" Legolas asked after a short while.  
  
"Because their representations in the fëa are so amusing. They are like little children, playing off of other emotions and traits, causing change and generally creating havoc." Elisandra replied. "Even the calmest fëa, like Uncle Elrohir's, can change into a chaotic mess in a matter of moments when faced with one or more of those emotions."  
  
"Elrohir has a calm fëa?" Legolas asked with a blink. Elrohir's hijinks in Rivendell were renowned throughout the Elven kingdoms - the latest news from Rivendell always started off with What Elrohir Did This Time - so it was hard to believe he had a calm fëa. Elisandra looked at Legolas with amusement; watching small bits of surprise skitter around in the glow outlining his form, causing little bits of havoc wherever they went.  
  
"Yes, amazingly enough." she said. "Calm as a sheltered pond on a windless day, most of the time. Surprise or startle him, however, and it turns chaotic beyond belief." Elisandra smiled, remembering her Uncles last visit, ten years ago, when she'd managed to sneak up behind him and surprise him. His fëa has gone so chaotic that she'd gotten queasy.  
  
"I suppose it makes a poetic sense." Legolas said after a moments thought. Elisandra chuckled.  
  
"That it does." she said. "Now I'm afraid I shall have to let you go back to wandering the Palace, bored. My father still has need of me."  
  
"Ah well. It was pleasant to talk to you, Lady Elisandra." Legolas said with a smile and a slight bow.  
  
"It was pleasant to have you along, Prince Legolas." Elisandra replied, also smiling, and gave a small curtsey.  
  
"Namárië [Farewell] until tonight!" The Prince said as he turned, and Elisandra chuckled slightly at his pointed indication that he expected to see her at his welcoming feast. Arwen had already told Elisandra she was going whether she wanted to or not - which she actually did, so there was really no point in everyone trying to make her go.  
  
"Namárië!" Elisandra replied, shaking her head slightly as she smiled, then turned back to the wall, where two guards fëa's marked the doorway to the chamber her father was.  
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	8. Dance As Though No One Is Watching

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Why, yes, I am lazy about making up new names...thus, out of three names mentioned in this chapter, only one is new. The other two were shamelessly stolen from 'Sightseeing in Middle-Earth'.  
  
Also, thank you to everybody who reviewed...please review again once you're done this chapter and tell me what you thought!  
  
------------------------------  
-No Eyes Needed-  
------------------------------  
-Chapter VIII-  
-Dance As Though No One Is Watching-  
------------------------------  
  
Elisandra shifted in impatience as her handmaidens fussed about her. She'd been sitting for the past hour, patiently letting her handmaidens ready her for the feast. But now she was getting bored - and tired of being poked and prodded while having the handmaidens discuss her looks as if she wasn't even there. It was half the reason she didn't go to feasts normally, and was almost enough to make her change her mind about wanting to go to this one. Not that it would do any good, as both her parents and Prince Legolas were expecting to see her there, and she couldn't very well skip out on them.  
  
"She looks fine!" Elisandra almost sighed in relief as Mersana, the eldest of her handmaidens, interrupted the other handmaidens discussion about her hair. "In fact, you possibly overdid it. Did any of you take into account that this is a welcoming feast for an Elvish Prince? With Elisandra's looks, she could pull off an Elvish dress and hairstyle quite nicely, and it would be a compliment to the Prince!" There was silence, and Elisandra watched the surprise and embarrassment flit through her handmaidens fëa's in exasperation.  
  
"How long until the feast begins?" Elisandra asked.  
  
"An hour, m'Lady." the closest handmaiden, a young Rohan girl named Geona, answered in her usual quiet manner.  
  
"Mersana, is that enough time to change to an Elvish look?" Elisandra asked.  
  
"More then enough, m'Lady." Mersana replied smoothly, getting over the surprise that flickered through both her and the handmaidens fëa's. Normally Elisandra would have just said that if Mersana thought she looked good enough, then that was it, and the handmaidens knew that. But the dress and hair she currently had was uncomfortable, and she knew that an Elvish outfit wouldn't be.  
  
"Then get to work." Elisandra ordered, and after a moments pause, the handmaidens set to work. Half an hour later, Elisandra sat happily - and comfortably - listening to Geona read a Rohirrim's account of the War of the Ring, while the rest of her handmaidens readied themselves for the feast in a flurry of activity. They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and then they quickly made themselves ready as they followed Elisandra and her parents and brother to the feast hall.  
  
The hall was already mostly full by the time the royal family got there, and Elisandra noted with amusement that most of the ones already there had eligible daughters. Legolas was not, of course, there yet. He would not come to the feast until after the royal family had arrived - to do otherwise would be rude. Elisandra once again mused to herself about the stupidity of Lords and Ladies - something she tended to do quite often. She quickly pulled herself out of her musings, however, as the trumpets of the herald announced Prince Legolas's arrival.  
  
Elisandra clamped her jaw shut to keep it from dropping as she saw him, but she could do nothing about the slight widening of her eyes. He had decided to dress to full effect, apparently, and stood looking resplendent in sky blues and greens, his head topped with his crown for Erys Lasgalen. He looked, Elisandra thought, altogether Elvish, and very handsome. And from the appreciation and lust suddenly shooting through the fëa's of most of the females in the hall, married or not, Elisandra knew the rest of the court ladies agreed with her.  
  
Turning her head slightly to look at her parents, Elisandra was amused to discover that her mother and father had amusement and pity most prominently in their fëa's. Arwen saw her daughter looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and she winked at her, nodding slightly towards the closest knot of young court Ladies, who had gotten over their shock and were now whispering furiously among themselves. Elisandra smiled as she saw the emotions skittering through the girls fëa's. They were having an argument, about the Prince, Elisandra was sure, and it seemed that some of them had decided to back off from him, having seen him in his full Elvish glory and knowing he was above them, but a few others seemed even more determined.  
  
"I'm not sure if he's made things worse or better for himself." Elisandra whispered to her mother as Legolas was led to his seat beside Aragorn.  
  
"I would say worse." Arwen replied with a half-grin. "A few determined ladies can be worse then a handful of half-trying ones." Elisandra returned her mother's half-grin and nodded, remembering the time King Eomer had come to visit. He'd done the same as Legolas just had, and had ended out leaving Minas Tirith because of several Ladies that were pursuing him rather persistently, even after he made it clear he had no interest in them. Those Ladies had later retired to country estates when he'd married the Prince of Dol Amroth's daughter.  
  
Elisandra pulled her mind back to the present as the feast began, and she forced herself to listen to her brother's tales of riding and his school with at least half an ear, so she could reply appropriately. He was too young to really realize it, but his stories always made Elisandra a little sad - sad for something she could never have, as it was impossible for her to do most of the things he did without endangering herself or others. So Elisandra was grateful when her brother fell silent to finish eating and her mother took the opportunity to strike up a conversation that lasted the rest of the meal.  
  
Then the court retired to another hall for dancing, and Elisandra stood back along the wall, watching fëa's swirl about in the center of the room bitterly. Of all the things in the world she wished that she could do, even with her lack of eyesight, she wished she could dance. She had tried, once, but dancing required being able to see your partners body, so you could follow their movements and anticipate what they would do next, which Elisandra could not. It was the reason she avoided most formal social gatherings.  
  
"Lady Elisandra." Elisandra smiled as she turned her gaze from the dancers to Prince Legolas where he stood beside her.  
  
"Prince Legolas." Elisandra replied with a small curtsey.  
  
"Are you enjoying the feast?" Legolas asked.  
  
"I believe that is my line." Elisandra replied with amusement.  
  
"It is the line of whoever wants to say it." Legolas replied promptly.  
  
"I suppose it is." Elisandra said after a moments pause.  
  
"Now that we are in agreement, are you?" Legolas asked, and Elisandra took a moment before replying.  
  
"Mm, it's nice." Elisandra replied.  
  
"Only nice?" Legolas asked, and Elisandra saw a twinkle in his eye and amusement skittering around his fëa.  
  
"Well, as I cannot see any of the decorations I helped plan, all I have to go on is the company, which was superb for dinner, but for the dance is horrible." Elisandra replied, her mouth twitching slightly as it tried to smile. Prince Legolas seemed to wait, and then adopted a hurt look.  
  
"What, present company is not excluded?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, I suppose it could be." Elisandra replied airily, then grinned. Legolas grinned back.  
  
"I am glad you came. Your father said you have a tendency to avoid formal gatherings as much as I do." he said.  
  
"My father talks a lot." Elisandra replied dryly. "But I do tend to avoid all the formal gatherings like this that I can. However, I had both my mother and you pointedly tell me to come." Elisandra smiled.  
  
"I was only suggesting, Lady," Legolas said with a slight bow.  
  
"I know. I wanted to come, anyways." Elisandra replied.  
  
"Oh, you did?" Legolas asked, arching his eyebrow elegantly.  
  
"Yes, to see all the maidens make fools of themselves." Elisandra replied with a grin. "As one is about to do right now." Elisandra nodded in the direction of the approaching fëa of a lady, and Legolas groaned lightly as he looked over.  
  
"Come, dance with me." Legolas said, and before Elisandra could protest, grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. "Lady Atora has been following me all evening." Legolas said quietly as he settled into a basic dance.  
  
"That's all very well, but I can't dance!" Elisandra hissed in his ear. Legolas looked at her in surprise. "It's impossible to dance without being able to see your partner, which I cannot!"  
  
"You seem to be doing fine to me." Legolas replied calmly, and Elisandra realized with a start that she had slipped into the moves of a dance without even noticing. And she was doing fine. Realizing this, she stiffened and almost tripped over her own feet, and would have stumbled if Legolas had not shifted her grip to hold her upright.  
  
"Do not think about it, just do it." he said softly in her ear. "Let the music guide you." Elisandra hesitated, then slowly relaxed. She kept stiffening, however, and faltering.  
  
"You should see your parents faces." Legolas said suddenly, and Elisandra looked up to see that he was trying hard not to break out into a grin.  
  
"Oh, are they in shock yet?" she asked.  
  
"I would say so...but take a look for yourself." Legolas said, and twirled so that Elisandra could now glance sideways and see her parents. Elisandra laughed before she could stop herself, then quickly suppressed it into a giggle. Her parent's fëa's were chaotic messes, and it was hilarious.  
  
"Ah, I think I'll settle for seeing their fëa's. They're probably more amusing then their faces, anyways." Elisandra told the Prince, grinning.  
  
"Says the one who has not seen their faces." Legolas replied.  
  
"Says the one who hasn't seen their fëa's." Elisandra retorted. Legolas chuckled, then his eyes seemed to light up with mischieviousness.  
  
"Oh look, Aragorn and Arwen have decided to dance." he said.  
  
"Don't you DARE pass me off! I'm quite sure the only reason I'm dancing this well is because of your Elvish fëa, which father does not have." Elisandra said in alarm.  
  
"Actually, I was thinking of trying a more elaborate dance, if you're up for it." Legolas said, looking all innocence. His fëa was still tinted with mischieviousness, however, and Elisandra eyed him warily.  
  
"You ARE aware this is my first time dancing EVER?" she asked, and Legolas nodded, glancing over her shoulder with a touch of impatience to where her parents were presumably dancing.   
  
"You are a natural, however, especially when you're distracted by having someone talk to you." Legolas said with a grin. Elisandra blinked, then shook her head and chuckled. She hadn't even noticed that he'd been distracting her on purpose - something unheard of for her.  
  
"Fine, but if I trip over my own feet and we both end out in a heap on the floor, I hold you entirely responsible." she said.  
  
"That is a responsibility I will gladly take." Legolas said with a grin, and then swept her into the first moves of the new dance.  
  
---  
  
Arwen was surprised, to say the least, when she saw her daughter on the dance floor with Prince Legolas. Turning to Aragorn, who was currently talking to Lord Farqua, she impatiently waited until they were at a good breaking point in their conversation, then quickly pulled her husband away.  
  
"What is it, Arwen?" he asked curiously, and she turned to the dance floor and pointed. Aragorn's jaw dropped open in shock, as did Arwen's, as she recognized the dance Legolas and Elisandra were doing as one of the most complicated human dances around. Legolas, looking over Elisandra's head, caught Arwen's gaze and suppressed a grin. She saw him say something to Elisandra, and then twirl so Elisandra could see them. She did not miss Elisandra's laugh - nor did Aragorn.  
  
"Would m'Lady care to dance?" Aragorn asked, holding his hand out to his wife, and Arwen smiled and took his hand, allowing herself to be led onto the dance floor. Once there, they slipped into an Elvish dance that, though one of the simpler Elvish ones, was more complicated than the human one Elisandra and Legolas were currently doing.  
  
"Perhaps we shouldn't..." Aragorn murmured as he eyed Legolas, knowing that the Prince would take it as a challenge to try a more complicated dance with Elisandra.  
  
"She won't let him unless she thinks she can do it." Arwen replied, watching Legolas and Elisandra talk from the corner of her eye. She wished she could hear what they were saying, but the music, low as it was, easily blocked out their voices in the crowded hall.  
  
"Is he even aware of Elisandra's history in dance?" Aragorn asked in alarm as he saw Legolas and Elisandra slip into the moves of a new dance, a complicated Elvish one that even some Elves couldn't master.  
  
"I'm sure she's made him well aware." Arwen said, but worry tinged her voice as she watched the Prince and her daughter flow through the moves. Over Elisandra's head, Legolas caught Arwen's gaze and grinned, challenge clearly shining in his eyes. Arwen turned her gaze back to Aragorn. He looked back steadily.  
  
"Oh, all right." he said in exasperation after a moment, and led Arwen into the most complicated Elvish dance he knew - one with many twirls, spins, throws and complicated footwork. As Arwen fell into the steps of the dance, she was only vaguely aware that the dance floor was clearing of everyone but her, Aragorn, Legolas and Elisandra. Instead, she lived in the dance, letting the music flow through her and guide her steps, following Aragorn's lead, and it wasn't until a brief lull in the dance that she was able to look over at Legolas and Elisandra again. And then she almost tripped over her feet as she saw the dance they were doing.  
  
"They slipped into it a few moments ago." Aragorn said softly in Arwen's ear.  
  
"She's going to get hurt! I can barely manage the Linta Rusco, and no human has ever managed it successfully!" Arwen hissed back.  
  
"She seems to be doing fine to me, and I doubt Legolas would push her into a dance he knew would hurt her - he must think she can handle it. And may I remind you, it was you who started the challenge." Aragorn retorted. Arwen sighed, knowing her husband was right. For the rest of the dance, she kept half her mind on dancing, and half for worrying about Elisandra. She was grateful when the music stopped, and even more grateful when she looked over to Legolas and Elisandra to find that they had stopped, as well, and besides being a little out of breath, Elisandra was fine. Both her and Legolas were grinning like idiots as they looked triumphantly over at Arwen and Aragorn. Then the Lords and Ladies started applauding, and Elisandra gave a visible start, while Legolas's grin only grew wider.  
  
"It seems we have been out-danced." Aragorn said with a smile as her strode over to the Prince.  
  
"That you have." Legolas replied, still grinning.  
  
"And by what a pair." a Lord commented from the crowd, and Arwen watched her foster daughter with concern as she seemed to shrink into Legolas. She was definitely not liking the attention, but Legolas didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Yes, the Lady Elisandra has been hiding a true talent from us these past years, it seems." Lord Farqua agreed, coming forward in the crowd. "And to think you had us all convinced you were a horrible dancer."  
  
"I am a horrible dancer, Lord Farqua, it is Prince Legolas with the talent." Elisandra replied quietly.  
  
"I can hardly believe that His Highness is the only one with talent when you just danced the Linta Rusco." Lord Farqua said speculatively, and Elisandra's eyes widened as she heard the name of the dance. Even if she wasn't able to dance, she'd learned the names of many dances, including the Linta Rusco, and it's history of ending in disaster for any human that attempted it. She glanced at Legolas, who simply smiled cheekily at her. Elisandra's glance then turned into a glare, much to Legolas's confusion, and then dissolved into a neutral expression.  
  
"Believe what you wish, Lord Farqua." she said calmly, turning back to the Lord. "But now, if you'll excuse me, the dance seems to have tired me out. I shall return to my chambers." With a few sharp glances, she gathered her handmaidens to her and swept out of the hall. Legolas watched her go with curiosity. And as the Lords and Ladies slowly began to break up and go back to their little groups, or start dancing as the musicians started up again, Aragorn and Arwen went over to him.  
  
"You didn't tell her what dance you were attempting?" Arwen asked, and then inwardly winced as her voice came out more icily then she had intended it to, causing Legolas to look at her in surprise.  
  
"I asked her if she was up for a more complicated dance, and she consented." he said with a shrug. "I did not think that she would know what the dance was even if I named it, as she had told me that she had never danced before."  
  
"You did not have to lead her into the Linta Rusco. You KNOW that dances history with humans, Legolas. She could have easily been injured." Arwen said sharply, and once again Legolas looked at her in surprise. Then he turned thoughtful.  
  
"But she was not, nor was she ever in any danger of it." he said slowly. Arwen opened her mouth to snap at him that that was not the point, but Aragorn waved her to silence, and she saw that the Prince was staring thoughtfully off in the direction Elisandra had come from. He had not been trying to defend himself, he had been thinking out loud. Arwen waited while he continued to think, and just when she began to get impatient, he turned his attention back to the royal couple.  
  
"When I was dancing with her, I completely forgot that she was human and blind. She danced as though she had been dancing all her life." he said quietly. "Arwen, I know her mother is from Minas Tirith, but who was her father?"  
  
"We do not know." Arwen replied softly.  
  
"I think it is time we did, however." Aragorn said, and Legolas nodded solemnly.  
  
"It is indeed." he said. "And I will wager you anything that there is Elvish blood in her background." With that, he turned and strode out of the hall, following the route Elisandra had so recently taken. Aragorn and Arwen looked at each other after the Prince's departure, then, noticing that many Lords and Ladies were watching them, they adopted neutral faces and fell into a simple dance.  
\/---Review pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!---\/ 


	9. Friendship Forming

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Thank you to all my reviewers out there - Lady in Red, TigerLily713, Doova, wannabeanelvengirl, Duke Storm, silver swan, Nikki, Gilimirin, Nelinde, and, of course, SplendiferGoddess.  
  
Your feedback is very much appreciated, even if it is scolding me for using a corny line...Sorry, it was the best thing I could come up with. But as for all your questions about Elisandra's father, you'll just have to wait...*evil grin* NO, it's not Gimli, Splendifer. Or any other short person. As a side note, I'm following the books for the background of this story, not the movies.  
  
Now enjoy the chapter!  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter IX-  
  
-Friendship Forming-  
  
------------------------------  
  
After leaving the dancing hall, Legolas wandered through the halls of the palace, lost in thought. A few court Ladies had tried to follow him, he knew, but he simply ignored them as if he hadn't heard them and they quickly left. Then he pointed himself in the general direction of the palace gardens and started walking while he thought.  
  
It was unlike him to forget anything so obvious about someone as them being blind or human. When Arwen had reminded him that Elisandra was human, it had come as a true shock. He had literally completely forgotten that she was human and blind - he had thought of her as an elven maiden with exceptional dancing skills. How he could have forgotten was beyond him.  
  
As was how Elisandra managed to dance the Linta Rusco without harming herself. She had to have had Elvish blood in her background. But if it was strong enough for her to be able to dance the Linta Rusco, there should also be some physical sign. Entering the palace gardens, Legolas absently made a mental note to watch her more closely to see if he could see some trace of Elvish grace in her movements.  
  
Pausing in his thoughts to look around, Legolas went to the largest tree in the gardens - an ancient oak - and climbed to its topmost branches before settling down again to think. There, he began to go through the list of Elves that he'd ever heard of having relations with a human woman, trying to recall if any of the women had been from Minas Tirith. He drew a blank however, and gave up on that line of thought, realizing that not many Elves choose to make their relationships with humans publicly known, anyways, and if Elisandra showed so little physical signs of Elvish blood, then her Elvish ancestor could be several generations back. More then enough time for a family to move to Minas Tirith from another country entirely. Her Half-Elven ancestor could have originally been half Rohirrim, and nobody would know.  
  
And then it hit Legolas. Elisandra DID have physical signs of her Elvish blood - she was incredibly tall and had blonde hair and blue eyes. The Rohirrim had blonde hair, to be sure, but not THAT blonde, and blue eyes amongst them were a rarity. Legolas laughed to himself and shook his head.  
  
As he shook his head, he caught sight of movement on the ground, and turned his head more fully to see whoever it was that was coming. To his surprise, he saw the object of his thoughts slowly making her way through the garden, running her hand along the bushes to keep herself on the path. Elisandra had changed out of her feast clothes and was now in a simple dress, plain enough to belong to one of the lower classes in the city - and it'd greens and browns blended into the garden quite well. She looked as if she was trying very hard to blend in. Curious, Legolas watched as she made her way along, arching an eyebrow in appreciation of her memory when she lifted her hand just in time to skip over a thorny rose bush before continuing down the path. He wondered if her memory was another result of her Elvish heritage, as most Elves had good memories, but set the thought aside as she paused in the clearing and suddenly looked up.  
  
Though Legolas was well hidden in the branches, and no normal human would have been able to see him, Elisandra looked straight at him. She stiffened, and then turned to leave. Legolas, realizing she was most likely mad at him about the dance, jumped down from the tree and quickly walked over to her.  
  
"Elisandra." he said simply, and she stopped. Slowly, she turned her head and looked at him, matching his gaze.  
  
"Legolas." she acknowledged icily. She hadn't meant it to come out so coolly, and internally winced as she saw the slight hurt flicker through Legolas's fëa. She had come out here to think, however, not to confront the one who had caused her to seek solitude. The fact that she had flawlessly danced the Linta Rusco, without harming herself, had sent her thoughts into a whirlwind, and after assuring her handmaidens that she was going to sleep, she'd snuck out to come to the gardens for some quiet so she could think. But instead she had found Legolas, his fëa shining like the sun, sitting high above the ground, presumably in a tree.  
  
Realizing the silence had stretched on, Elisandra looked at Legolas curiously. His fëa was a mess of emotions, most of which was uncertainty.  
  
"Was there something you wanted to speak with me about?" she prompted, hoping to make things easier for him.  
  
"Yes." There was a slight pause before Legolas continued. "I wanted to apologize for leading you into the Linta Rusco. I was not thinking at the time." he said.  
  
"Obviously not." Elisandra said dryly, then let her expression soften. "But your apology is accepted. Just don't ever do that again."  
  
"I promise I will not." Legolas said with an impish grin. "Though it is doubtful we will get the opportunity to dance again in the near future. Even the small amount of hounding I received from the court ladies tonight was more then enough for me for the rest of my visit to Minas Tirith."  
  
"That is your own fault for wearing what you did." Elisandra said with a grin.  
  
"I was actually rather hoping that wearing this outfit would cause most of them to leave off." Legolas said dejectedly. "But it apparently did not work all that well."  
  
"No, it didn't. Not this time, and not when King Eomer tried it, either. He went to visit Dol Amroth - and found his future wife - because a few ladies were so persistent." Elisandra said.  
  
"Oh, was that why he left Minas Tirith in the fall after assuring everyone that he would be staying there over winter?" Legolas asked with amusement, and Elisandra nodded.  
  
"It's a little known fact, of course." she said. "One I wouldn't even have known if it wasn't for my sight."  
  
"Your sight is sounding like a handy thing to have." Legolas commented. "It provides entertainment and information all in one."  
  
"Ah, but the price one has to pay for that easily outweighs it." Elisandra replied.  
  
"So you would rather be able to see then keep your current sight?" Legolas asked curiously.  
  
"Who wouldn't?" Elisandra replied. "Even a truly blind person would most likely rather be blind then have my sight."  
  
"Oh?" Legolas asked inquisitively, and Elisandra paused a moment before replying.  
  
"A blind person is completely blind, and can see nothing at all, all the time. A normal person can see everything, all the time, unless they close their eyes. I, however, am stuck halfway in-between, being able to see the fëa's of living beings, but unable to see anything around them, or their actual faces - except in Elves cases. It's almost like somebody decided that, instead of taking my sight completely, they'd let me see just enough that I would always thirst to see more." Elisandra explained carefully. "So you can understand why I would rather have my sight back or go completely blind then keep my current sight simply for the amusement and information it lets me have."  
  
"Yes, I do." Legolas said after a moments thought, nodding.  
  
"Good. And please don't repeat any of that to Mother and Father. They're under the impression that I have completely adjusted to my sight and am a happy young lady." Elisandra said, and rolled her eyes slightly at the last part. Legolas grinned and bowed slightly to her.  
  
"In that case, I promise that I shall not break the trust I have been given." he said. Elisandra smiled at him, and he just grinned back for a few moments. Then he offered his arm to her, and she took it before they set off down the path at a walk. They walked in comfortable silence for awhile, then Legolas spoke up.  
  
"You said that you can not see a living beings face, except in the case of Elves?" he asked.  
  
"Yes." Elisandra said, nodding.  
  
"So you can see Elves faces?" Legolas asked with curiosity.  
  
"Only full Elves, like yourself. I cannot see Mother's face, nor Elrohir's or Elladan's." Elisandra replied. "It was actually quite a shock when you walked into the Hall, as I've never seen a full Elf for a prolonged period of time."  
  
"Really? I was under the impression that Elves were frequently visiting Minas Tirith." Legolas said with surprise.  
  
"Ah, they may visit, but that doesn't mean I get to see them." Elisandra said.  
  
"Good point." Legolas said. There was a moment of silence, and then Legolas cocked his head to one side, apparently listening to something intently. After a few moments, he grinned.  
  
"What is it?" Elisandra asked with curiosity.  
  
"Your maids are almost hysterical over something. Their voices have become quite high-pitched." Legolas replied, still grinning, mischief and amusement sparkling through his fëa. Elisandra shook her head and grinned back at him.  
  
"They tend to over react whenever they find me missing. Even though it happens at least once a month." she said. Legolas arched an eyebrow.  
  
"So you tend to go for a lot of walks by yourself?" he asked, and Elisandra nodded.  
  
"It's nicer to go by myself. Then I'm alone with my thoughts, except for the fëa's of the few animals and insects." she said. "It's almost like, for a moment, that I'm truly blind, and it makes it that much more easier." There was silence for a moment, and then Legolas winced at a rather high-pitched squeal from one of Elisandra's maids.  
  
"Perhaps you should go calm your maids." he suggested. Elisandra pretended to ponder this for a moment, then shook her head.  
  
"I was subjected to them fussing over me for over an hour before the feast this evening. They can worry over where I've gotten to for a while longer." she said emphatically. Legolas laughed.  
  
"I believe I like your sense of revenge." he said once he stopped laughing, his eyes still sparkling with mirth. "However, if we continue to wander through the gardens, I am sure they will find us quite soon, as they have already cajoled some guards into helping them search for you."  
  
"Well then, lets not stay in the gardens." Elisandra said.  
  
"I would dearly love to leave the gardens. However, there is no way out except through the palace, which would result in the guards finding you." Legolas replied dryly.  
  
"That's what you think." Elisandra said with a mischievous grin. "Find the exit from the gardens that's farthest from my room. Then let me go first." Legolas eyed the lady for a moment, wondering what she was up to, and then shrugged. She sounded like she knew what she was doing. So he set off towards the exit in the gardens farthest from Elisandra's rooms, then let Elisandra take the lead.  
  
He watched with appreciation as she navigated her way through the corridors without any help, and even more so when he discovered the reason she'd wanted to go first. As they were approaching an intersection, Legolas heard the footsteps of a guards coming their way, and opened his mouth to warn Elisandra, only to find himself being pulled into a small alcove in the wall. He stared at Elisandra in amazement.  
  
"How -" Elisandra shushed him, watching the wall which hid the intersection for their view intently. As Legolas heard the guards footsteps fading again, Elisandra turned back to him. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief as she grinned, and Legolas looked at her curiously.  
  
"Another thing nobody, especially my parents, don't know - if I concentrate hard enough, I can sense people before I can see them." she said. Legolas raised his eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"That is an amazing gift indeed." he said.  
  
"Yes, it is. Now let's continue before another guard comes along." Elisandra said. Legolas nodded, and they stepped out of the alcove, and Elisandra set off again. She led Legolas through the darkened back passages of the Palace, the ones that were barely used, avoiding the guards that always stood sentry outside Lords and Ladies doors, and more then once pulling Legolas into an alcove or doorway before he had even heard the guard that was coming.  
  
Legolas, not paying too much attention to where they were going, was very surprised when Elisandra suddenly turned into a small garden and stopped. Looking around, Legolas realized he recognized the garden, and his eyes drifted up to his window where it overlooked the garden. He arched an eyebrow at Elisandra.  
  
"Why are we here?" he asked.  
  
"Well you don't intend to go traipsing around outside the palace in your feast clothes and crown, do you?" Elisandra said with a light snort. "I came prepared for a walk. You did not." Legolas blushed slightly.  
  
"Wait here, then." he said, and scrambled up a tree near to his window, then jumped in through the window, hoping no court Lady had decided to take the prerogative and 'visit' him in his chambers. He almost sighed with relief when he remembered that he'd locked the door for that very reason. Quickly, he strode over to the wardrobe where his clothes were being stored and picked out a simple outfit. It wasn't as plain as Elisandra's, but no Elvish clothing ever would be. He changed hurriedly, then simply jumped out of the window. He heard the hiss of an indrawn breath, and turned to see Elisandra looking at him with almost shock. He arched an eyebrow at her questioningly.  
  
"Elves are mad, especially you." she said in reply to his unspoken question. "Jumping from that height..." Elisandra shook her head and continued mumbling things about broken limbs and heights while she led the way out of the garden again. Legolas just grinned as he followed her.  
  
They ran into more guards as they went, and Legolas was pretty sure one saw him, but they were not challenged. It was amazingly easy to get out, in fact. So easy that it wasn't until they stepped through a doorway and onto a city street that Legolas wondered how they were going to exit the palace, and then it was too late to wonder. He blinked in surprise and looked around.  
  
"My father likes to sneak out of the palace every once and awhile in ranger garb." Elisandra explained to Legolas when she saw his surprise and confusion. "I followed him once." she added with an impish grin. Legolas chuckled.  
  
"I guess that explains why it was so easy to get out." he said.  
  
"That and I know half the guards from when they were younger. They find it quite amusing to cause my maids more aggravation by purposely looking for me in places I'd never be." Elisandra replied with another impish grin, then turned sarcastic. "They, at least, know that when I disappear on my own, it's because I want to be alone and not because I've gotten lost somehow." Legolas arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Is that really why your maids are so frantic to find you?" he asked, and Elisandra nodded her head emphatically.  
  
"One time, I simply hid in my room to hear what they always went hysterical about when I disappeared. They seemed absolutely certain that I'd gotten lost and fallen out a window or some such thing." she said, then added with another light snort. "They treat me like an imbecile, half the time."  
  
"Ah. In that case, the twinge of pity I felt for them has disappeared." Legolas said.  
  
"Good for it." Elisandra said with a nod. "Now it's your turn to lead the way, as I only know my way around the palace."  
  
"Where shall we go, then?" Legolas mused, almost to himself.  
  
"How about the fourth ring of the city?" Elisandra asked innocently. Legolas eyed her. She was asking TOO innocently not to be up to something. But once more, he shrugged and gave in.  
  
"All right." he said, and held out his arm for Elisandra to take. She did, and they set off down the streets, leaving the palace and Elisandra's worried maids behind them.  
  
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	10. Eight Times Two is Ten

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Cybercookies go to: SplendiferGoddess [IT'S NOT GIMLI!], MaverickGirl, Aislin, dragonfly, Britt, Nikki, silver swan, Doova, Lady of Middle Earth, kitty, Duke Storm, TigerLily713, Narikia, Sigil Galen, bratprincess and Girl X for reviewing!  
  
Authors Note: Erg, had a little trouble starting this chapter, for all that I set it up quite nicely. I blame the long weekend, Highland Games, and Harry Potter slash...And for actually being able to start the chapter, I blame chocolate, Garth Brooks, and OFUM (search for it on this site under the 'Lord of the Rings' section, you'll find it eventually...and hopefully you'll laugh as hard as I did).  
  
Also, this story is about to get rather Mary-Sue...I can't help it, it's hard to write certain scenes without slipping into modern speech, which I'm afraid I've done. Also, this chapter was kinda quick-and-dirty, written in one afternoon, editted in the evening, and then posted. Sorry.   
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter X-  
  
-Eight Times Two is Ten-  
  
------------------------------  
  
"But the plants need the sunlight to survive." Elisandra pointed out as she took another drink from her ale. "They can't live off of starlight."  
  
"Then why do some flowers only open at night under the light of the stars?" Legolas countered. "They, at least, would be able to survive." Elisandra sighed before attempting to explain why a flower opening in starlight doesn't necessarily mean that the entire plant can survive with only starlight. Which she had just explained ten minutes ago, though neither she nor Legolas remembered that. Much to the amusement of the few humans that were sitting nearby.  
  
It had all started off rather innocently, really. Legolas and Elisandra, after wandering around the fourth ring of the city for awhile, had gone into a tavern for a drink. Elisandra, having had nothing more then a light wine all her life, decided to be adventurous, especially since Legolas was paying (he was the only one of the two that had brought any money, anyways), and had an ale. Legolas also had an ale.  
  
Several ales later, Legolas had commented that the starlight was pretty, and wished that there could always be starlight. And thus they started in on a debate of whether or not life could continue with only starlight. It didn't even occur to the two that they had become slightly drunk, even though Legolas should have known better. The Barkeep and the other patrons of the tavern didn't seem too inclined to notify the two of this, either, as it was not everyday you saw an Elf Prince and human girl walk into a tavern and proceed to get partially drunk. Most of the patrons seemed too busy trying not to burst out laughing to do much, anyways.  
  
"You are impossible, Eli." Legolas finally declared, having had enough of Elisandra's lecture about plants. He had taken to calling Elisandra by her nickname after about the fourth ale. "You will never be able to understand until you have actually seen starlight."  
  
"Which shall be never, so we shall just have to agree to disagree!" Elisandra replied cheerfully. Legolas nodded emphatically.  
  
"That we shall!" he said, and the two raised their mugs in a toast of one another. In the silence following their toast, Legolas became aware that the tavern had become eerily quite. He could barely hear most of the Men breathing, in fact. Turning his head to look at the occupants of the room, he found them all staring at him and Elisandra, slightly stunned expressions on their faces. He, having had enough drink that the most blatantly obvious thing in the world now required a good amount of thought to figure out, stared back at the Men for quite awhile before realizing why they were staring.  
  
They, having had less drink then Legolas and Elisandra, had put his and Elisandra's last comments in the argument together with Elisandra's name and realized who she was. Then Elisandra, squinting slightly, made a comment about the Men looking funny, and all of the sudden it came crashing down upon Legolas that he had not only taken Aragorn's foster daughter down into the city, but he had managed to get her - and himself - slightly drunk, as well.  
  
Legolas let loose a stream of Dwarven swears that he'd learned from Gimli. The Men in the tavern blinked in surprise, and began edging away. One of the Men knew Dwarvish, and he stood, tossed the gold for his drinks to the bartender, and skedaddled out of the tavern with as much dignity as he could. The other Men, sensing that this was not a good sign, continued their edging towards the door. Before they could get far, however, they discovered that the scowl on Legolas's face was not directed at them, but at himself. Legolas, now swearing to himself in his head, stood and fished out what he thought was the correct amount of gold for his and Elisandra's drinks. Then he went around the table and helped Elisandra out of her chair.  
  
"Time to get you home." he said, making a motion as if to leave. But Elisandra didn't move, instead making a face.  
  
"But it's much funner here!" she said.  
  
"Home, even if I have to carry you." Legolas said firmly. Elisandra seemed to ponder this for a moment, and while she was pondering, Legolas grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the tavern.  
  
"Hey!" Elisandra protested when she noticed what had happened. "I can walk on my own! You duneed to haul me 'round!" As if to prove it, Elisandra yanked her hand out of Legolas's and took a few steps - and then stumbled and just about fell down. Legolas caught her with a sigh, which for some reason caused Elisandra to giggle.  
  
"I doubt you would be able to walk by yourself even if you were at home with a flat surface to walk on." Legolas said grimly, then added to himself, "Aragorn is going to have me shot."  
  
"Naw, I won le'im..." Elisandra said with another giggle. "You're too much fun t'be a target."  
  
"I do not think you will have much choice in the matter." Legolas said with another sigh. "Now come on, let us get you back to the palace so you can sleep this off and I can get shot."  
  
"If you're up to following me home, my mother might have something that can help lessen both of those." A voice said out of the dark, and Legolas whirled, almost letting Elisandra fall. As it was, he had to do some fancy acrobatics - at least, they were fancy considering how drunk he was - to keep Elisandra from collapsing into a heap on the flagstones. Her legs had apparently stopped working, though she seemed to have not noticed. Peering into the darkness that cloaked the owner of the voice, Legolas cursed himself again for the drink that was dulling his senses so well.  
  
"Jahon!" Elisandra said suddenly with a giggle, and pushed off Legolas and stumbled over to the owner of the voice. Legolas watched in surprise as the man stepped out of the shadows and Elisandra gave him a hug - which was actually more like draping herself over him and using him as her new support.  
  
"Hello, Elisandra." he said dryly, and Elisandra giggled again. Legolas, eyeing the boy, wondered how Elisandra knew him - he was obviously a commoner, and the deep tan of his skin indicated that he probably spent a lot of time out in the fields around Minas Tirith. He'd probably never been above the third ring of the city in his life.  
  
"Leg'las, this is Jahon!" Elisandra said proudly, pull Legolas's thoughts him out of his inspection of the boy.  
  
"So I gathered." Legolas replied as dryly as Jahon had greeted Elisandra.  
  
"I was her foster brother for a few years after her mother died and before she went to the palace." Jahon explained, seeming to notice Legolas's confusion as to how Elisandra knew him. "I didn't think she'd recognize me, but I guess she did."  
  
"I always 'member people I know!" Elisandra said smugly.  
  
"Well, you haven't seen me in, what, 15 years?" Jahon said. "I didn't expect your memory to be THAT good."  
  
"Her memory rivals most Elves." Legolas said, and Elisandra beamed. Jahon shook his head as he looked at her beam.  
  
"She's totally smashed." he commented. Legolas imitated Jahon and shook his head.  
  
"No, she is only slightly 'smashed'." he said, picking up on the Humans term, even though he'd never heard it before in his life.  
  
"With the amount of drink she had in the tavern, I'm surprised she's not unconscious." Jahon said, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"I had more then her, and I am not unconscious." Legolas pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but you're an Elf." Jahon said patiently. "Elisandra is not. And unless you want to end out carrying her, I suggest we get her to Mother's so she can lie down before she passes out." Legolas nodded slightly, just as Elisandra spoke up.  
  
"I agree!" she said, and started nodding emphatically. Shaking their heads, Legolas took one of Elisandra's arms, and Jahon the other, and they set off down the street. They'd managed to go two blocks before Elisandra managed to stop nodding emphatically. Then she, once again, protested that she could walk by herself, and tried to prove it, but Legolas and Jahon didn't let her go. They kept walking, with Elisandra between them complaining, for quite some time. Elisandra eventually fell silent, choosing to sulk instead of complain, and thus she was until Ranora opened to door of her house.  
  
"Ranora!" Elisandra said cheerfully upon seeing the now-elderly lady, getting out of Jahon and Legolas's grasp and giving her old foster mother a large hug - which was, once more, more like a switching of human supports then a hug. Ranora arched her eyebrow and looked to Jahon for an explanation.  
  
"She's drunk." he said, and Ranora frowned slightly. "Ask him!" Jahon said, nodding to Legolas, who hung his head slightly.  
  
"I'm not drunk!" Elisandra protested, with only a few moments lag.  
  
"Yes, you are." Legolas told Elisandra.  
  
"No I'm not!" Elisandra replied hotly.  
  
"You are." Legolas said firmly, and when Elisandra opened her mouth to object again, he shot her a look, and she thought better of it, instead turning to Ranora again.  
  
"They're so mean! They wou'n't even lemme walk here by myself!" she whined to the lady, and Ranora sighed.  
  
"That's because you're drunk, dear." she said gently, and shifted her hold on Elisandra before leading the now-sulking girl into her house, with Jahon and Legolas following.  
  
"Take a seat, I'll make some tea." Ranora said to Legolas, getting Elisandra seated in a chair in the main room of the house. Legolas and Jahon did as they were told, and Ranora disappeared into the kitchen. Silence descended on the room, except for the occasional mumbled 'I'm not drunk!' from Elisandra. After a few moments, Jahon shifted uncomfortably, and Legolas, who wanted nothing more then to wake up now and realize that this was a very realistic dream, realized that the boy was uncomfortable and he should probably make polite conversation. Legolas fished around in his muddled mind for something to say, but before he found anything, Ranora returned.  
  
"Now then, will someone kindly explain how this happened?" she asked, sitting down in the one available chair left. "I have often wished to see my foster daughter again, but having her come to my door drunk and with an Elven prince - who is also drunk, if I haven't missed my guess - was not how I wished to meet her again." Jahon and Ranora looked at Elisandra and Legolas expectantly.  
  
"It's all his fault!" Elisandra said helpfully, pointing to Legolas, and seemed to take great pleasure when all of her former foster mother and brother's attention switched to Legolas. Legolas chose to ignore Ranora and Jahon's attention momentarily in favour of an argument with Elisandra.  
  
"You are the one who decided to not only leave the palace, but come this far down in the city!" he said.  
  
"You could have said no!" Elisandra replied cheerily.  
  
"Could one of you please give us a decent explanation?" Ranora asked impatiently, and internally Legolas sighed. She was not a woman to be put off. So Legolas quickly assembled his thoughts, glad that the walk had rid some of the alcohol from his system and his head was feeling slightly clearer.  
  
"Elisandra and I snuck out of the palace to avoid her handmaidens, which she had already snuck away from and were going hysterical looking for her. Elisandra suggested we go down to the fourth ring of the city, and we did, and after walking around for awhile, we ended up at a tavern, where we had a few drinks." Jahon snorted as Legolas finished.  
  
"A few? I saw the Barkeep refill your ale's at least six times." the boy said.  
  
"Eight times." Elisandra said cheerily, and everybody looked at her.  
  
"You were keeping TRACK?" Legolas asked incredulously after a short silence.  
  
"I wanted to see how long until you noticed." Elisandra replied with an evil grin. Legolas made a low growling sound in his throat, putting his face in his hands.  
  
"Forget Aragorn having me shot for getting you drunk, he is going to have me shot for strangling you." he muttered. A low whistling came from the kitchen, then, and Ranora excused herself and rose to finish making the tea.  
  
"So what're you up to, Jahon?" Elisandra asked cheerfully once Ranora had left.  
  
"I'm working in the fields." he replied.  
  
"Must be fun." Elisandra commented, and then suddenly got a sad look. "Wish I could do that."  
  
"No, you don't." Jahon replied vehemently. "And besides, women aren't allowed to work in the fields." Elisandra pouted.  
  
"It would still be a nice change!" she said. "All I do up in the palace is wander around trying to spot problems, run messages for Father, and give him advice on things he already knows!"  
  
"All very useful duties, I might add." Legolas said, his voice still muffled from where his head rested in his hands.  
  
"And all extremely boring!" Elisandra insisted. "Until tonight, I hadn't been off the palace grounds since Ranora brought me there!"  
  
"And it should have remained that way!" Legolas said.  
  
"Ah, party pooper. You just didn't have enough ale." Elisandra said, trying to sound wise as Ranora re-entered with a tray carrying the tea.  
  
"I had more then enough, and that's the problem." Legolas groaned, raising his head as Ranora offered him a cup of tea. He took it gratefully and blew on it lightly before taking a sip. Then he made a face, causing Elisandra to giggle.  
  
"My special mixture to lessen the effects and after-effects of alcohol." Ranora told the Elven Prince when she saw his face. "You will both drink it all!" she added sternly. Legolas, suddenly reminded of his mother when he was younger, smiled slightly, and took another sip of the medicinal tea. Elisandra took her first at about the same time, and her loudly exclaimed 'YUCK!' made them all chuckle before she took another sip. Then Ranora handed Jahon another cup of tea, and took one for herself. From the colour of the liquid in the cups, Legolas knew that they had a normal brew, and not a medicinal one. Which made sense. Ranora set the tray on a small table, then sat down again, and silence reined in the room for a while as everyone sipped their tea. Then Ranora spoke up.  
  
"I have a feeling I shall regret asking this, but why did Elisandra sneak away from her handmaidens in the first place?" she asked.  
  
"Wanted to think." was Elisandra's reply in-between sips of tea.  
  
"And she coerced you into helping her get around without the handmaidens?" Ranora asked Legolas, who shook his head.  
  
"She can get around the palace without my - or anyone's - help. I just happened to be thinking in the garden she went to to think in." he replied.  
  
"I thought there was a welcoming feast for you tonight. What were you both doing out in the garden thinking?" Jahon asked with curiosity. Silence fell as neither Elisandra nor Legolas replied. Elisandra seemed be paying attention only to her tea, trying to get it down without throwing up, and Legolas was staring into his almost-empty cup with a thoughtful frown on his face.  
  
Aragorn had told him the basics of how he and Arwen had found Elisandra, and Arwen had told him what Aragorn had missed. Neither had mentioned Jahon - Legolas didn't think either of them ever met the boy - but they had told him all about Ranora and how she had taken on Elisandra after her mother died. That, combined with his earlier conversation with Aragorn and Arwen about how it was time to find Elisandra's father, made him think carefully before replying.  
  
"Among other things, I believe we were both trying to reason out how Elisandra can dance the Linta Rusco." Legolas said finally, and looked up to see Jahon and Ranora's eyes widen. Another silence fell, until suddenly Elisandra announced that she was done.  
  
"And now I'm sleepy." she added.  
  
"We have some spare beds, if you two would like to stay here for tonight. Perhaps it would lessen King Elessar's wrath if you told him you found Elisandra's old foster family and spent the night talking with them?" Ranora said, her lips twitching in an attempt to smile as she looked at Legolas.  
  
"If it is no trouble, yes, thank you." Legolas said gratefully.  
  
"Good. Jahon, take Elisandra to her old room. She can sleep there tonight. Legolas can have your old room, since after helping Elisandra into bed, you are going home to your wife." Ranora said pointedly. Jahon chuckled, rising.  
  
"Yes, Mother." he said, and helped a yawning Elisandra out of her chair and led her by the elbow out of the room. Ranora and Legolas waited until Jahon came back, kissed his mother goodbye, and left, before speaking again.  
  
"The Linta Rusco?" Ranora asked, looking at Legolas intently. He nodded. "And she wasn't injured?" Legolas shook his head.  
  
"She danced it perfectly - though she has never danced before." he said. The two fell into a thoughtful silence, during which Legolas finished off his tea.  
  
"Aragorn and Arwen agreed with me after the dance was done that it is time to find Elisandra's father." Legolas said, breaking the silence, and this time it was him looking at Ranora intently. But she shook her head.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't help you. I know only of the general area of where her mother traveled before Elisandra was born - she never told anyone who Elisandra's father was." she said. Legolas sighed. "I shall tell all I know, however. But not now. Now, I think it is time for even you to sleep." Legolas nodded tiredly.  
  
"I think you are right." he said, setting his tea cup next to Elisandra's on the tray. Ranora stood, placing her also empty teacup on the tray, and then motioned for Legolas to follow. He did, and Ranora led him out of the room the same way Jahon had gone with Elisandra, then into a small room with several windows facing onto a small garden. Legolas smiled slightly when he saw the windows.  
  
"Shall I leave the windows open?" Ranora said with a half smile, and Legolas nodded vigorously, though he was sure she already knew his answer.  
  
"Very well. I shall see you tomorrow." she said, and left, closing the door behind her. Legolas gratefully stripped off all his clothes but his trousers and dropped onto the bed. He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling, and was asleep within moments.  
  
\/---Please review!---\/ 


	11. Discussions

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Hm, it occurred to me during the typing of this chapter that, since Wood Elves are sometimes called Sindarin Elves, and Legolas is a Wood Elf, he should be speaking Sindarin, not Quenya...oops. I shall be setting out soon to find myself a Sindarin dictionary. Until then, The little Elvish words sprinkled throughout the fic are Quenya...my apologies to all those that care.  
  
And because it was so popular last chapter, cybercookies go to: silver swan, MaverickGirl, bratprincess, Duke Storm, Girl X, and Aislin for reviewing. SplendiferGoddess gets a two cybercookies for beta-reading.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XI-  
  
-Discussions-  
  
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Legolas woke the next morning happily aware that whatever Ranora's tea had had in it, it had eliminated whatever hangover he normally would have had. He was the first to rise in the house, needing less sleep then the humans, and went out to the small garden behind the house to look around. It was a small flower and vegetable garden, with one rose bush off to the side, and Legolas found that it was actually quite well tended. It could use some help of the kind only an Elf could give, however, and after a moment's hesitation, Legolas set about giving that help.  
  
So Ranora found Legolas an hour later, happily working away in her garden, singing softly to himself - and the plants - while he worked. She smiled slightly, and then left him to it, going back into the kitchen to make breakfast. Faldor rose shortly after his wife, and upon entering the kitchen and spotting Legolas working in the garden through one of the kitchen windows, stopped and stared in shock.  
  
"He came in with Eli last night. You remember I told you that she'd come for a visit?" Ranora told her husband.  
  
"Right." Faldor said after a moment, tearing his gaze away from the Elven Prince and looking at his wife.  
  
"Breakfast's almost ready, if you'll sit down." Ranora said, and Faldor, still in slight shock, seated himself at the small table in the kitchen, his gaze occasionally flitting back to the window. Then Ranora decided it was finally time to disturb Legolas, and left the kitchen to do so.  
  
"Good morning!" she said in greeting, entering the garden. Legolas looked up and smiled.  
  
"Manë arin! [Good Morning!]" he said cheerily. Ranora arched an eyebrow, not understanding any form of Elvish, and assumed he said good morning.  
  
"Would you like to eat now, or when Elisandra rises?" she asked. As an answer, Legolas rose, dusting off his hands and trousers.  
  
"Now is as good a time as any!" he said, and then added dryly, "Especially since, if Elisandra is anything like my friend Gimli, I could be waiting until noon if I waited to eat with her." Ranora chuckled.  
  
"That you could." she said. "Well, come in and meet my husband, and then we'll have breakfast." Legolas followed Ranora back into the house, and was introduced to Faldor. Ranora's husband was polite, but seemed a bit overwhelmed at sharing breakfast with an Elf Prince, even after Legolas told the two to just call him Legolas. So Faldor ate quickly, and then excused himself to go to work - half an hour early, as Ranora revealed once he was gone.  
  
"I should probably go find a city guard and tell them to get the message to Aragorn that Elisandra is safe." Legolas mused once Faldor was gone.  
  
"That would be a good idea, I think. Faldor said that there was quite the uproar going on at the palace last night when he came home." Ranora said.  
  
"Then I shall go before they start searching the city." Legolas said dryly, and with a wave, disappeared out the door. He ended out having to go all the way to the gate between the third and fourth ring of the city to find a guard, and then he had to pull rank to get the guard to leave his post and run his message. Apparently they were very short on guards. Which could mean one of many things - but the most likely reason was that Aragorn had already gathered all the spare guards he could to mount a search for his foster daughter. Legolas sped back to Ranora's as fast as he could without attracting attention.  
  
Inside, he found Elisandra awake - or at least, he thought she was awake; maybe she was asleep in her chair - with a cup of Ranora's medicinal tea in front of her. Ranora was washing the morning's dishes, watching Elisandra with amusement. Then, as Legolas came into Elisandra' field of vision, her head snapped in his direction and she scowled.  
  
"I am going to shoot you!" she declared, then added with a wry smile, "As soon as I learn how to use a bow."  
  
"Then I shall not hold my breath in fear while waiting." Legolas said with an impish grin as he took a seat at the table across from Elisandra, keeping well out of hitting and kicking distance. "And in that waiting period, may I remind you it was your idea to enter the tavern? And you were the one who wanted ale? And you were the one that kept count of how many times the Barkeep refilled our ales?" Elisandra snorted.  
  
"It makes no difference." she said. "You're the one with normal sight, you should have been able to keep track if I could."  
  
"Except you were trying to - and succeeding in - distracting me from keeping track." Legolas retorted. Elisandra opened her mouth to reply, and then paused.  
  
"I was?" she asked after a moments thought, and Legolas nodded.  
  
"You were." he replied.  
  
"I'm almost afraid to ask HOW I did that." Elisandra said with a sigh and a half-cringe, and Legolas thought for a moment, considering whether to tease her or not. She shot him a warning look, however, and he opted for the truth.  
  
"I believe it was in lecturing me about how plants could not survive with only starlight." he said. "I can not exactly remember, myself. I had the same amount of ale as you."  
  
"I thought Elves were supposed to have superior constitutions then Humans?" Elisandra asked.  
  
"We do. You, however, have an abnormally good constitution for a human." Legolas replied. "So by the time you were drunk enough for me to notice, I was rather drunk myself."  
  
"Ah." Elisandra replied, and then frowned down at her tea thoughtfully.  
  
"Father will be worried." she said after a moment.  
  
"I sent a guard to tell him you were safe." Legolas replied. Ranora, at this time, finished the last of the dishes and disappeared from the kitchen.  
  
"That won't be enough for him. He worries about me almost as much as my handmaidens, sometimes, though he does not treat me as such an imbecile as they do." Elisandra said, and Legolas frowned slightly. Elisandra glanced up at his, and smiled slightly. "They all worry about me. It gets tiring sometimes."  
  
"Sometimes it can be a good thing to have people worrying about you." Legolas said.  
  
"Yes, but not an entire palace, all the time, even when they know you're perfectly safe standing right in front of them." Elisandra said in annoyance. "For Eru's sake, ELDARION has more freedom then I!"  
  
"Perhaps you should ask them to stop worrying so much." Legolas said.  
  
"I have, and they just worry all the more because of it!" Elisandra snapped, and then sighed. "I'm sorry, Legolas, I didn't mean to snap. It's just - I get sick of people worrying about me. That's one of the reasons I find being around you refreshing. You don't worry about me. You accept my sight and act as if it was normal, guiding me when I need it and letting me be when you know I can handle myself. Everyone else just skips the letting me be part completely."  
  
"I have a feeling it comes from spending too much of my life fighting." Legolas said dryly. "When fighting, you expect your companions to deal with what they can handle, and do not worry about them, because if you do, you will die."  
  
"If that is the case, then Father should be the same." Elisandra said. "But he is not, I can assure you."  
  
"He has raised you since you were a child. I should think that would be a valid excuse to be over protective." Legolas said.  
  
"Nothing is a valid excuse to be over protective." Elisandra muttered.  
  
"But there are many good reasons to be over protective." Legolas countered. Elisandra looked at him for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded.  
  
"I suppose there are. But I still don't like it." she said.  
  
"No one has said you have to!" Legolas replied cheerfully, and Elisandra smiled slightly.  
  
"Ah, but it was implied." she said.  
  
"No, it was only implied that you accept it, not that you like it." Legolas insisted. Elisandra thought for a moment, and Legolas smirked. "I win." he said.  
  
"Damn 3,000 years worth of experience." Elisandra mumbled, then added emphatically, "I blame your age, you crotchety old elf!" Legolas's jaw dropped open in shock.  
  
"I am not crotchety, nor old!" he replied after getting over his shock. "You want to see crotchety and old, go find a Human grandfather!"  
  
"Oh, so Elves can't be crotchety and old?" Elisandra asked with a challenging look.  
  
"No, we are immortal, thus, we never become crotchety or old." Legolas replied.  
  
"Ah, but what of Elros? He became crotchety and old." Elisandra said.  
  
"He was Half-Elven, and chose the race of Men. He forsook his Elven heritage long before he became crotchety or old. And if stories are to be believed, he died long before he became truly crotchety, anyways." Legolas retorted.  
  
"But it doesn't matter if he forsook his Elvish heritage before he became crotchety and old. The blood was still in him!" Elisandra said, and at this point, Ranora re-entered the kitchen. Upon hearing Elisandra's statement, she arched an eyebrow.  
  
"What ARE you discussing?" she asked.  
  
"Whether or not Elves can become crotchety and old." Elisandra replied promptly.  
  
"Which they can not." Legolas said.  
  
"Elros did!" Elisandra insisted.  
  
"He was not an Elf when he became crotchety and old, and as I said, the stories claim he never even became crotchety!" Legolas replied. Ranora shook her head and smiled.  
  
"I shall leave you two to it, then." she said, and left the kitchen again. Legolas and Elisandra, now completely absorbed in a discussion about whether or not the stories about Elros not becoming crotchety before he died could be believed, didn't even notice Ranora leave.  
  
---  
  
The guards jumped to attention as Aragorn passed, eyeing him nervously, but he went straight past them, scowling as he went. He stalked into the chamber and turned to face the young gate guard that was standing there.  
  
"Well?" he barked. "I was told you had an urgent message!"  
  
"Y-yes, Your Majesty." the guard stuttered, eyes wide with fear.  
  
"Out with it, then!" Aragorn snapped. He knew he shouldn't be so curt with the guard, but he had had a rather trying evening and morning. He had been in the middle of preparing a group of guards to go search the city for his still-missing foster daughter when one of his pages had come and told him that there was a city guard there with an urgent message.  
  
"H-his highness, Prince Legolas, said to-to tell you th-thatLadyElisandraissafe." The guard blurted out the last part so quickly, Aragorn had to think it over for a minute before understanding. And then his face, if possible, darkened even more.  
  
"Was there anything else?" he asked. The guard mutely shook his head. Aragorn snarled.  
  
"I am going to shoot him, Elvish Prince or not!" he snapped at nobody in particular, whirling on his heel and stalking out of the room. This time, as he passed, the guards not only jumped to attention, but jumped a good foot away from him at the same time. Aragorn, in no mood to be amused by their antics, snarled at them as he continued. He continued stalking through the corridors, letting the servants and Lords and Ladies jump out of his way rather then change his course, until he reached his and Arwen's chambers.  
  
When he entered, he saw Arwen crouched in front of one of Elisandra's handmaidens, apparently trying to comfort her. Whatever Arwen had managed to accomplish, however, was instantly reversed when the handmaiden saw Aragorn's face. She cringed back in her seat and started crying softly. Arwen gave Aragorn a reproving look, then stood and walked over to him.  
  
"What is it?" she asked softly.  
  
"Prince Legolas sends word that Lady Elisandra is 'safe'." Aragorn snarled, then collapsed into a nearby chair, scowling. Arwen looked at her husband in shock, and the handmaiden stopped crying in surprise, also staring at the King.  
  
"Well, that is good news." Arwen said smoothly, recovering.  
  
"Only partly." Aragorn said darkly. "'Safe' can mean many things. That he is sending the message also raises questions as to how he knows of her whereabouts in the first place."  
  
"Geona, would you please leave us?" Arwen said calmly. The handmaiden nodded, rising and curtseying hastily before rushing out the door. She, apparently, had no more desire then the guards to be near Aragorn in his current mood. When she was gone, Arwen turned to her husband.  
  
"Legolas is your friend and mine. He would do nothing to harm Elisandra. You know this. Why do you question his message that she is safe?" she asked sharply.  
  
"I am not worried that he would harm her." Aragorn said with a sigh. "Quite the opposite, in fact." There was a pause as Arwen figured out what Aragorn meant, and when she did, she sighed.  
  
"She is and adult, as is he, Aragorn." Arwen said.  
  
"She is essentially my daughter, and he is one of my best friends, almost like a brother to me!" Aragorn snapped in reply.  
  
"Yet she is not your daughter, nor mine, and he is not your brother." Arwen said calmly. "If they choose to link themselves in that manner, then there is nothing you nor I can do. However, we are not even sure that is what has happened. They could have spent the night far away from each other and only met up this morning." Aragorn snorted, but the fire of his anger was gone.  
  
"I just do not want her to get hurt." he said softly, closing his eyes and resting his head in his hands.  
  
"I know, Aragorn, neither do I." Arwen replied just as softly, walking over to her husband and sitting on the arm of the chair. Without warning, Aragorn swept her into his lap and held her there, holding onto her and drawing comfort from her strength. It was sometime later when Arwen heard him laugh suddenly from where his face was buried in her neck, and she looked down at him curiously just as he lifted his head to look at her. She was relieved to see amusement sparkling in his eyes, but was curious as to what caused it. Before she could ask him, however, he supplied the answer.  
  
"It is a fine thing when the father is more upset over the loss of a child then the mother." he said with a laugh.  
  
"That is what comes from worrying too much!" Arwen replied promptly.  
  
"Ah, but worrying can sometimes save you." Aragorn said.  
  
"Or annoy those around you." a new voice said. Arwen turned her head with a slight smile to see the voices owner, but Aragorn did not move.  
  
"I am going to shoot you, you know." he commented calmly.  
  
"Get in line." Elisandra said with a snort. "I'm first."  
  
"And what if I do not wish to be a target?" Legolas replied with a slight pout.  
  
"Then we'll tie you down and use you as a target anyways!" Elisandra replied cheerfully. Legolas mumbled something along the lines of not being appreciated, and Elisandra laughed. That caused Aragorn to finally look at the two, and though he looked at them intently, he could not tell if what he had worried had happened during the night had happened.  
  
"Where did you two disappear to?" he asked finally.  
  
"Um, we wandered down to the fourth ring of the city and found my old foster family." Elisandra said, squirming slightly as she felt her father's attention on her. "We talked late into the night, and by the time we were finished, it was so late that Ranora invited us to stay the night."  
  
"Really now." Arwen said flatly, and Aragorn looked at his wife. She had sounded, and looked, as if she hadn't believed a word Elisandra said. Looking back to Elisandra and Legolas, Aragorn saw the two glance at each other. Their looks seemed to both say 'I'm not telling them!' Aragorn narrowed his eyes at them, and Legolas shifted his weight from one foot to the other.  
  
"You're the Elf who cam talk fancy, you tell him." Elisandra mumbled to Legolas, low enough that Aragorn would not have been able to tell what she said if it wasn't for his little-known ability to read lips. "I can't even remember most of it, anyways." Legolas seemed almost ready to argue, and then sighed.  
  
"We did end up go down to the fourth ring of the city, and we did visit with Elisandra's foster family. But we visited this morning. Last night...well, we walked around the fourth ring of the city for awhile, until Elisandra suggested we find someplace to sit down for awhile, so we went to a tavern and - uh - had a few ales." Legolas said, looking about as nervous as an Elf could get. Aragorn arched an eyebrow. That was hardly anything to be nervous about telling him, and why would Elisandra not remember most of it? Arwen, however, it seemed, was quicker to catch on then Aragorn.  
  
"How many ales, exactly?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. Elisandra and Legolas looked at each other.  
  
"Eight." they replied as one.  
  
"Each?" Arwen asked, and Elisandra and Legolas nodded. Aragorn starred at them. Eight ales was more then enough to put himself out of action. Legolas and Elisandra shifted uncomfortably under the twin gazes of Aragorn and Arwen.  
  
"So you both snuck out of the palace and got drunk before visiting Elisandra's old foster family?" Aragorn asked after a long silence.  
  
"Uhm, well, Elisandra's old foster brother found us, first, and then offered to take us home to his mother for some tea to lessen the effects of the alcohol before coming back to the palace." Legolas replied. "Then Ranora kindly offered to let us stay the night, and we were both dead tired, so we agreed."  
  
"You mean Elisandra was still walking after having that many drinks?" Arwen asked with an arched eyebrow.  
  
"Barely, yes." Legolas replied. Arwen and Aragorn looked at each other.  
  
"I would have passed out at about six or seven." Aragorn whispered to Arwen, who nodded slightly, glancing towards Elisandra.  
  
"I think it is more then time to find out the identity of Elisandra's father." Arwen whispered back.  
  
"Well, at least something was accomplished last night." Aragorn said in his normal voice, to Legolas and Elisandra. "We needed to find Ranora soon, anyways."  
  
"Why?" Elisandra asked with curiosity.  
  
"Because it is time to find out who your father is, Eli." Aragorn replied calmly.  
  
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	12. Thoughts About a Father

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Cyberbrownies (ran out of cookies) for reviewing go to: bratprincess, Nikki, Evenstar-Elfstone, Lady of Middle Earth, HurriCanine, queenie, TigerLily713, Gilimirin, Duke Storm, Cyberwing, Aislin, MaverickGirl and Girl X. And SplendiferGoddess gets a Cyberbrownie just because she's special.  
  
Authors Note: So, thanks to everyone who's been guessing as to the identity of Elisandra's father. Unfortunately, you'll have awhile to wait to find out if you're correct or not. Because, really, finding Elisandra's father is my main plot...and I stop writing stories after I run out of plot. Soooo...you'll probably find out who Elisandra's father is right before the end. Or maybe not. Depends. I need to work in the romance, too, and I'm still trying to figure out when that's gonna come in. :)  
  
As a last note, certain scenes in this chapter were brought on by sneak-preview pics of Orlando Bloom in 'Troy'...shirtless. (http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=leggyslove&itemid=282883) Enjoy! :)  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XII-  
  
-Thoughts About a Father-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Elisandra sat in her room, watching the sparkling fëa's of people scurry about beneath her in the city. She was vaguely aware that one of her handmaidens was reading to her from yet another history book, but paid her no heed. She was far more interested in her own thoughts.  
  
It was a week after Elisandra and Legolas had snuck out of the palace, and today was the day that Ranora was coming to discuss Elisandra's mother, and where she had traveled before returning to Minas Tirith, pregnant with Elisandra. Elisandra had honestly not thought about her real mother or father in her life. It had never really occurred to her to think about them, really - Arwen and Aragorn (and in their own time, Faldor and Ranora) had been all the parents she'd ever needed. She knew her mother was dead, of course, but she'd heard no mention of her father, and she hadn't asked. But now, her foster parents and Legolas wanted to find out who her father was. Elisandra had decided that she honestly couldn't have cared less.  
  
But today, whether she wanted it or not, she was to find out everything about her mother and father that Ranora knew. Elisandra sighed softly, almost wishing she could just stay in her chambers with her maids and let the meeting with Ranora happen without her. She would gladly let her parents and Legolas carry out the search for her father without her, and keep whatever the results of the search may be to themselves. After all, if her mother had returned to Minas Tirith, pregnant and alone, why should she be so eager to find her father? He obviously hadn't cared enough about her mother to take care of her properly - so what was the point in finding him?  
  
"M'Lady? Are you alright?" Ineira's worried voice broke into Elisandra's thoughts, and she realized that she'd begun to scowl. It was a habit she'd started to form whenever she thought about her father. This, unfortunately, was far too often nowadays.   
  
"I'm fine, Ineira. Just thinking." Elisandra told her maid with a reassuring smile. "Please, continue." Ineira paused for a moment, her fëa glittering with worry and indecision, but then she continued reading. Elisandra tried to pay attention, but soon her thoughts drifted back to her father and mother. Elisandra began to scowl again, and Ineira shut the book with a loud thud, causing Elisandra to look at her in surprise.  
  
"Your mind is obviously not on what I'm reading, m'Lady, and there is no point in me reading this to myself, as I've read it twice before." Ineira said with an arched eyebrow. Then she rose, and with a stiff curtsey, left the room. Elisandra sighed in annoyance. Ever since she'd snuck out with Legolas, her maids had been curt, almost to the point of disrespectful, to her. Only Mersana and Geona acted like their normal selves, and that was only because Arwen had talked to them. It was one of the regrettable side effects of that one night of relative freedom.  
  
The other side effects of that night were rumors in the palace. It may be all very well and easy to tell Arwen and Aragorn that she and Legolas had gone down to the city, got drunk, and then visited her old foster family, but one can not spread that sort of story about court. So rumors flew about what Elisandra and Legolas had done out in the city that night. The most common rumor, of course, was that they'd snuck out to have a passionate night of love in some Inn in the city. A few well-timed, overly-loud explanations had calmed it down, however, and most of the palace now believed Legolas and Elisandra initial story of just having gone to visit Elisandra's old foster family.  
  
Elisandra realized she was scowling again, and groaned inwardly. Her thoughts were going in circles, and none of the circles were exactly nice. She needed something to distract her until Ranora arrived. Unfortunately, her options were limited - listening to a book had already been proved ineffective, Aragorn had no need of her today, and there was not much else she could do, unless she wanted to stand in court and watch the goings on there. Or she could visit someone - and as soon as that thought popped into her head, Elisandra smiled slightly, knowing exactly who she could visit.  
  
Elisandra rose, then, and made her way carefully out of the sitting room where she'd been to the one where all her maids were, chattering away excitedly about this thing or that. They didn't look up as she passed through, nor did they ask her where she was going, and she supplied no information. Though she insisted that she and Legolas were nothing but friends, she saw that disbelief in her maids fëa's when she did so. In the entire court's fëa's, in fact. While they may have believed that nothing happened when the two snuck out of the palace together, Legolas and Elisandra had been spending so much time together recently that most of the court Ladies, at least, were sure that something had happened by now. Elisandra would have refuted those rumors, but Legolas preferred rumors of he and Elisandra being lovers then half a dozen determined court Ladies chasing after him. So, for Legolas' sake, Elisandra let the rumors go.  
  
But that didn't stop her from shooting annoyed glances at all the Ladies that she passed in the halls, especially as she approached Legolas' chambers. Arriving at Legolas' chamber door, she knocked briskly, ignoring the emotions that were skittering through the fëa's of the guards posted next to Legolas' door. The instant she heard the 'Enter!' from inside the chamber, Elisandra opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind her. Then she turned to greet Legolas, and stopped.  
  
There was Legolas, sitting in what Elisandra remembered to be the window to the garden, reading a book, and wearing nothing but trousers. Once more it was brought back to Elisandra how much she missed by not being able to see. She could honestly say that this was the first time she'd ever seen anyone's bare chest, and she couldn't help but stare a little.  
  
"Hello, Elisandra." Legolas said absently, not looking up from his book. Elisandra arched an eyebrow at his casualness, and then shook her head, moving her eyes from chest-level to eye-level.  
  
"Do you have time to talk, or were you in the middle of something?" Elisandra asked, with light teasing in her voice. The intent had been to remind him that he was half dressed, but Legolas didn't seem to get it, thinking she was referring to the book he was reading.  
  
"Nothing but reading." Legolas said, closing his book and looking over to Elisandra with a smile. "Come, sit!"  
  
"I'm NOT sitting in the window." Elisandra said with an arched eyebrow.  
  
"Of course not. There is a chair right there for you to sit in." Legolas said, pointing to a space in front of him.  
  
"Well, you should've said so in the first place." Elisandra said, carefully making her way through the room. Legolas just grinned at her as she found the chair and sat down.  
  
"Someday I shall have to rearrange my entire room and see how you manage." he said, still grinning, and there was a merry sparkle in both his eyes and his fëa that Elisandra hadn't noticed when she'd come in. He was apparently in a very good mood, and Elisandra decided to play along with his little joke.  
  
"You know very well that I would NOT manage. I'd run into everything. I can only manage to get around because of my memories of where things were the last time I was there." she said.  
  
"That is what would make it all the more interesting!" Legolas replied cheerfully.  
  
"Says the one who wouldn't end up with bruised and banged up legs." Elisandra retorted, and Legolas grinned again. "You're in fine form today. What's got you so cheerful?"  
  
"A messenger came in this morning." Legolas replied, still grinning. Elisandra looked at him blankly.  
  
"And? Messengers come in every morning." she said.  
  
"Ah, but this one was special." Legolas said with a smirk. Elisandra saw something strange flit through Legolas' fëa, then, and she tilted her head to one side as she tried to determine what it was. It was almost like the ghost of another's fëa - something she'd only ever seen once before, in her grandfather - foster grandfather, she reminded herself - Elrond's fëa. When he had come to visit, she'd seen a ghost of Celebrían's fëa in his. That had been much stronger, and she'd gotten a good impression of what the Elf was like from that ghost. Now, Elisandra wondered who Legolas could know so well as to have their fëa ghosting across his. Then it came to her, and she smiled.  
  
"Gimli sent you a message, did he?" Elisandra asked. Legolas looked at her with surprise.  
  
"How did - never mind, yes, he did." Legolas said, grinning again. "He is coming for a visit in a week." Elisandra arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, this should be interesting." she said. "I've seen even less of Dwarves then I've seen of Elves."  
  
"Interesting indeed, then." Legolas said, and then suddenly looked out the window with a light frown on his face. "If we could but convince the hobbits to come..."  
  
"A reunion of all the Nine Walkers still on these shores?" Elisandra said with an arched eyebrow. "From what I've heard, that would be trouble." Legolas grinned again, looking back to Elisandra.  
  
"It would at that." he said.  
  
"Which is probably why Aragorn wouldn't send a messenger if you asked." Elisandra said with a lop-sided grin, and Legolas looked at her curiously. "What?" she asked after a moment's silence where he just looked at her.  
  
"I have never heard you call Aragorn by his name before. You have always referred to him as 'father' before." Legolas replied. Elisandra blinked in surprise. She hadn't even realized she'd done it. And now that she thought about it, she realized that, in her thoughts, she hadn't referred to Aragorn as 'father' since she had come back from the city.  
  
"I...guess it's because of all this talk about finding my real father." Elisandra said after a moment. "It just works better to call him Aragorn, instead of calling him father and having people think I'm talking about my real father. Not that I'd ever call my real father 'father' if I met him." Elisandra scowled at the last part, and Legolas arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Ah, and now I see the reason you came to visit." he said. "This talk about finding your real father troubles you?" Elisandra snorted lightly.  
  
"To say the least. I really can not figure out why you, Aragorn and Arwen think it so important to find him. I am perfectly content not knowing who he is, so why should you want to know?" she said. "I am full grown now, I do not need him, nor do I want him, in my life."  
  
"It is not a question of whether or not you need or want him in your life, Elisandra. In fact, Aragorn and Arwen would have been completely content to leave your true parentage a mystery forever." Legolas said. "But recent events have shown that your background is not what it seemed to be. We wish to find out what it truly is. And since we know who your mother was, and what her background was, the answer must lie with your father. Thus, we wish to find him."  
  
"Recent events?" Elisandra asked, arching an eyebrow. "I danced a dance that no human should be able to dance, and it's suddenly cause to find my father?" Legolas shook his head slightly.  
  
"It is not just that, Elisandra." he said.  
  
"What recent events, then?" Elisandra asked, now curious.  
  
"On top of you dancing the Linta Rusco, there is also the fact that you were still conscious and semi-coherent after eight ales. Most humans can handle no more then five or six - Aragorn has the best constitution of any human I know, and he can only handle seven on a good day." Legolas said.  
  
"Maybe it was watered down." Elisandra said, and once more Legolas shook his head.  
  
"I had a full eight, as well, and was acting like it. It was not watered down." he said.  
  
"Maybe the barkeep watered mine down because I was a lady?" Elisandra suggested. Legolas just looked at her. "Fine, that's not very likely. But still - a good constitution and being able to dance the Linta Rusco are not good grounds for suddenly needing to find my father." Elisandra snapped.  
  
"Combined with your looks, they are." Legolas said calmly. Elisandra looked at him blankly.  
  
"My looks?" she asked. Having only been able to see fëa's for almost all her life, her looks had never been much of an issue. In fact, most people in the court tended to avoid bringing up anything that required normal eyesight around her. Thus, the sudden reference to her looks left her with a blank. It was strange when she suddenly realized she had no idea what she looked like - she couldn't even see her own fëa, since fëa's were not reflected in mirrors.  
  
"How much do you remember of before your sight changed to what it is now?" Legolas asked, breaking Elisandra out of her thoughts, and it took a moment for her mind to switch topics and dig that far down into her memory.  
  
"Not much." Elisandra said finally.  
  
"Do you remember any faces, any people in particular?" Legolas asked, and Elisandra frowned as she thought.  
  
"Not clearly." she said, then asked impatiently, "Why? What are you leading to?"  
  
"I am leading to this, Elisandra: The people of Minas Tirith are dark haired and dark eyed. Your mother, from what Ranora has told Aragorn and Arwen, was a typical woman of Minas Tirith. Yet you are light haired, light eyed, and extremely fair skinned." Legolas replied.  
  
"Alright, so I look strange for where I have lived, and I can do some extraordinary things. That is still no reason to go looking for my father." Elisandra said in annoyance. Legolas looked at her carefully, and then sighed.  
  
"What else do you have against finding your father?" he asked. Elisandra just looked at him flatly.  
  
"Whatever do you mean?" she asked in reply.  
  
"What other reason do you have for not wanting to find your father? There is obviously another one, and it looks to be the most important one if you are protesting this search for your father so strongly just because of it." Legolas said, looking at Elisandra intently. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop imagining things, but then closed it again. Perhaps she should tell him the real reason.  
  
"Alright." she said after a silence, sighing heavily. "You want to find my father. But I am afraid of what we might find if we go looking. After all, my mother returned to Minas Tirith alone. He could very well not WANT to be found. He obviously didn't care enough to make her his wife." Elisandra was snarling by the time she finished, and Legolas' eyebrows were raised as high as they could go.  
  
"Or he could have been dead." Legolas said, and Elisandra looked at him in surprise. "You do not know what happened Elisandra. They could have been married and planning to live a happy life together, but had something happen that caused your mother to return to Minas Tirith alone. You do not know. You can not know unless you search out your father, or your father's family, for answers."  
  
"Why not my mothers family?" Elisandra asked after a moment, the thought suddenly occurring to her.  
  
"If you were fostered by Ranora instead of your mother's family, I seriously doubt your mother had any living relatives nearby." Legolas said, arching an eyebrow, and Elisandra reluctantly nodded. "You do not know what happened, Elisandra, remember that. Do not judge your father until you have heard the full story." Elisandra paused, then nodded again. "Now we had best go, Ranora should be here shortly." Elisandra coughed softly, and Legolas looked at her curiously. She glanced at his still-bare chest meaningfully, and to her amusement, Elisandra saw embarrassment flit through his fëa.  
  
"You had best go, then. I shall be along shortly." Legolas said, recovering quickly, and disappeared into his bedchamber. Elisandra shook her head and smiled, then stood and left, heading for the receiving room where the meeting with Ranora was to take place. And for some strange reason, as she walked, the memory of a certain Elf's bare chest crowded out the rest of her thoughts...  
  
\/---Please review! Reviews really are nice things to get, and are very much appreciated. I even accept anonymous reviews, so you don't have to go to the trouble of logging in! (Ok, now I sound like I'm begging...)---\/ 


	13. Revelations

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Entire cybercakes go to all my reviewers 'cuz I hit 100 reviews! WOOT!  
  
Anyways, you should all enjoy this chapter, especially the end. It should put to rest any suspicions that I might pull a really odd, screwed-up plot twist and make Legolas Elisandra's father...that's just too much oddness and angst, even for me. This chapter has also finished setting the stage for the action. You thought things were slowing down, Lady of Middle Earth? Trust me, it's just the calm before the storm...The questions have been asked, the stage has been set, and the answers are going to start coming very very soon...and the rating might possibly go up. ;)  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XIII-  
  
-Revelations-  
  
------------------------------  
  
With no little amount of nervousness, Ranora approached the palace for the third time in her life. Under her arm, she carried the small, faded portrait of her friend and Elisandra's mother that she had long had hidden in her attic. She had planned on giving it to Elisandra when she was older, but then Elisandra had become sick and lost her sight and Ranora had seen no use in giving it to Elisandra and had forgotten about it until this business about finding Elisandra's father came up. So now, she walked up to the palace, in her best dress, and feeling very self-conscious about the portrait wrapped in old brown paper under her arm.  
  
"Halt and declare yourself and your business!" the guard at the entrance ordered when Ranora approached the gate, and Ranora paused. She had not had to declare herself to the guards on both of her previous visits, and was not quite sure what to do. Thankfully, the guard seemed to understand this.  
  
"Name?" he asked, his voice gentler, and Ranora promptly answered.  
  
"Ranora Merel." she said, and the guard smiled instantly.  
  
"Ah! The one the captain said to look out for." he said. "Come with me, I'm to escort you to the receiving room." Then, with a wave to his fellow guardsman, the guard turned and entered the palace, and Ranora followed.  
  
"What's that you're carrying?" the guard asked conversationally as they walked, and Ranora shifted the package under her arm.  
  
"A portrait." she answered.  
  
"Of who?" The guard asked.  
  
"Lady Elisandra's mother." Ranora answered, and the guard arched an eyebrow, but said no more. The rest of the journey through the many halls and corridors was silent, until they stopped before a door.  
  
"Their Majesties Elessar and Arwen, His Highness Prince Legolas and Lady Elisandra are all waiting for you." He told Ranora in low a voice, and then he straightened, seemingly preparing himself, looking more nervous then Ranora. Deciding himself ready, he knocked briskly, and there came a polite 'Enter!' He opened the door wide and stepped in and to the side so that Ranora could enter behind him, then announced in a steady voice,  
  
"Ranora Merel, Your Majesties, Highness, Lady." Then he saluted, even as Ranora curtseyed deeply.  
  
"Thank you, you may return to your post." the King Elessar told the guard. The guard saluted again, and left, closing the door behind him.  
  
"Rise, there is no need for that." the queen told Ranora. Ranora rose nervously and took the seat that the queen motioned to.  
  
"Tea?" the queen offered, motioning to a servant, and Ranora accepted politely. They sat in relative silence for awhile, all five of them, sipping their tea, until finally Prince Legolas spoke up.  
  
"What is this that you have brought with you?" he asked, and Ranora smiled slightly as she set down her tea and picked up the portrait from where she had set it next to the chair.  
  
"It's a portrait of Elisandra's mother, Highness. It was done several years before Elisandra was born, and was not of the best workmanship, so it's become rather faded, but it still shows what she looks like." Ranora said, carefully unwrapping the portrait and pretending not to hear Elisandra's indrawn breath. Now, more then ever, she pitied the girl's lack of sight.  
  
"I see that Elisandra's beauty might not have come as much from her father's side as we thought." the king said with amusement as Ranora showed the portrait to the three that could see. And as Ranora looked at the portrait again, she smiled, agreeing with the king.  
  
"Indeed, Your Majesty, Eneira was beautiful in her own right, and had many men seeking her hand." Ranora said fondly. It was an understatement, really. Elisandra's mother had been one of the most beautiful women in Minas Tirith when she'd been alive, with long, black hair and deep green eyes, skin of the right shade to compliment it, and a slender, graceful build. Even more amazing was that she had a beautiful personality to match it, something so few human beauties had nowadays. The only thing anyone could ever fault her with was having too strong a sense of wanderlust, and no concept of danger to go with it.  
  
"Eneira?" Elisandra's voice was soft, and Ranora looked from the portrait to Elisandra and nodded, before remembering she couldn't see such a gesture.  
  
"Yes, that was your mother's name." Ranora said kindly, and Elisandra bit her lower lip, seeming to be thinking.  
  
"Did she have a family name?" Prince Legolas asked, though he glanced at Elisandra with concern.  
  
"None that she told me, Highness." Ranora replied. "She arrived in Minas Tirith when she was just barely twenty, with no one but a few hired guards, and told no one of her past. Even I, who was her best friend, earned only a vague tale about her parents dieing. The only clue to her past that there ever was was the fact that she seemed to have almost unlimited amounts of money."  
  
"Strange." the king said with a light frown, and Ranora nodded slightly.  
  
"It was indeed, Your Majesty." she said. "All thought that her parents must have been rich nobles who died, for there was no way that any parent would let their young - and beautiful - daughter wander around the countryside as she did."  
  
"So she traveled much?" Prince Legolas asked, and Ranora nodded vigorously.  
  
"Of the ten years she had a house in Minas Tirith, she was home for perhaps three of those years." Ranora said. "She was always traveling here and there, and constantly bringing back stories and odds and ends from different kingdoms and places. I remember someone commenting once that only a warrior or Istari would ever be more traveled then her." Out of the corner of her eye, Ranora saw a ghost of smile flit across Elisandra's face, and she suddenly wondered if Elisandra might not have turned out more like her mother in the traveling regards if it hadn't been for her sight.  
  
"Did she tell you where she traveled before she returned to Minas Tirith carrying Elisandra?" the queen asked, and Ranora paused. This was the heart of the matter that she had been asked here to talk about, and now she felt that the little information she had was woefully small and incomplete.  
  
"Eneira - well, she was rather spontaneous in her travels. But when she set out that last time, she said she was going to head north, most likely following the Anduin. She said she wished to return by boat, so she could see the Argonath." Ranora said carefully. "She was going to be gone for the summer to make the journey, but near the end of the season, a messenger came to say that she'd decided to stay longer. Stay where, the message did not say, and nor could the origin of the message be traced by the origin of the messenger, for Eneira had had the message sent by relay to get there faster." the four other occupants of the room looked at each other in dismay at this news. The Anduin was long, and it would take a very long time to search it all. But Ranora was not done.  
  
"Eneira told no one of where she had traveled, and refused to tell anyone who the father of her child was. But there was something - it wasn't much, but it was the most I'd ever heard tell of where she traveled." she said softly. "When Eneira was sick, I took her to the Houses of Healing, and one day when I visited her I found her out in the garden. She was sitting on the lowest branch of the largest tree in the gardens, having convinced someone to boost her up there, and she was staring almost longingly up into the trees branches, as if she wished to climb higher. She was so intent on the upper branches of the tree that she did not notice me as I approached, and before I could make myself known, she spoke. But she was speaking only to herself, as if thinking out loud." Ranora paused, trying to remember Eneira's words, and then continued. "She talked of how she wished for the days when a tree of that size was considered naught but a sapling, and she had her love to help her climb it and it's elders."  
  
"Was this the large oak that still stands in the Houses of Healings gardens?" the king asked intently, and Ranora nodded.  
  
"It was smaller, by perhaps the height of a man, then, but it is the same tree." she said. The king frowned slightly, and looked to his queen.  
  
"That tree is tall - I know of only two places trees grow to such a height that that tree would be considered a sapling, and none live in Fangorn." she said calmly, and the king nodded.  
  
"So." he said quietly. "Eneira was with her love in Lothlorien." Silence fell on the group, as each absorbed this information. After a moment of her own thought, and shock, Ranora looked at the other four occupants of the room to see their reactions, and found them quite varied. The queen was thoughtful, the king seemed to be almost brooding, Prince Legolas seemed to have an almost triumphant smile on his face, and Elisandra looked as if she didn't know quite what to think of this news.  
  
"It will be much harder, then, to find Elisandra's father than we thought." the queen said finally, frowning lightly. "Many of the Galadhrim have crossed to Valinor since grandmother left. Most of those that have stayed on these shores are now in Rivendell, with my brothers. Lothlorien is almost empty."  
  
"Then perhaps Rivendell is the place to search." Prince Legolas said, and Ranora saw that Elisandra lit up at that prospect.  
  
"Perhaps it is." the king said. "But that would better be decided at a different time. For now, is there anything else you can tell us, Ranora?" Ranora shook her head.  
  
"That is all I know of where she might have traveled, Your Majesty." she said, and the king nodded.  
  
"Very well then, I have duties I must attend to now." he said, rising, and everyone else in the room also stood. "We shall talk of this later." he said to everyone but Ranora, then said a polite goodbye to Ranora herself before leaving. Elisandra, glancing between the queen and Prince Legolas, seemed to see something, and approached Ranora with a smile.  
  
"Come, walk with me and tell me more about my mother." she said cheerily, and with a quick - and mainly unnoticed - curtsey to the queen, the two left the room. The rest of the afternoon, for Ranora, was spent wandering through the palace with Elisandra, speaking of her friend, Eneira. She got home late in the evening, only moments after her husband arrived, but he did not complain as to the lateness of supper that night, having known where she had been.  
  
---  
  
Legolas turned his horse around the way it had come before easing it to a stop. Looking out over the horses head, he saw the city of Minas Tirith, glowing with the golden light of the setting sun. He watched for awhile, content to view the beauty of nature instead of doing what he came out here to do - think. Gradually, however, the glow on the city dimmed and then disappeared entirely as the sun set. Then there was only the light of the stars sparkling off the buildings. Legolas smiled at the sight. Let Men say what they would, to him there was nothing more beautiful then star light.  
  
*Isn't there?* his mind whispered to him, and Legolas frowned. That little voice was what had driven him away from Minas Tirith for the night. It was telling him strange things, and he wished to be alone with nature, to think, and he could not do that in the palace, or indeed, in all of Minas Tirith. There was always someone nearby to interrupt, and it was irritating to have someone trying to talk to you while you were thinking. He could only ignore someone so long, and the various Ladies at the palace had learned that, realizing that they had only to be persistent and he would stop ignoring them.  
  
Legolas scowled at that. That was just about the only thing that could make him scowl since the War of the Ring - human women fawning over him. It was irritating beyond belief. No matter how many times he put them off, they never seemed to get the hint that it would take something drastic indeed to make him even consider taking a human as a lover. Not that he had anything against humans, it was just too much heart ache for him to wish upon himself, or anyone else.  
  
Legolas' horse snorted impatiently at that moment, and Legolas pulled himself from his thoughts to slide off the horses back. He let the horse go, then, and lay on the ground, staring up at the sky. It was an elvish horse, it would know not to wander too far and come when he called in the morning. But for now, he let the horse go where it would, and watched the stars and thought.  
  
Things had been building up in his mind ever since he'd come to Minas Tirith, and despite all the time he'd had on his hands, everything seemed to have rushed by him. It seemed like only a day or two ago that he arrived, but it was actually two entire weeks. And in that time, he'd managed to set Aragorn and Arwen on a search for their foster daughter's father - something they might well have never done if he'd not caused events to unfold the way they had.  
  
*You're avoiding the subject.* Legolas' mind whispered to him again, and he frowned lightly, wondering when his mind had decided it had its own voice and needed to speak up. Absently he wondered if it was a sign of going crazy, and continued along that train of thought until a sudden image shoved all thoughts to the back of his mind. The image was a simple one - nothing extraordinary, and certainly not one of the most beautiful images in the world. At least, not to anyone else.  
  
But for some reason, to him, it was the most extraordinary and beautiful image imaginable - and that was what troubled him. For the image was nothing other then one of Elisandra, when she had determinedly tried to walk outside of the tavern, despite the drink making her wobble unsteadily. She had a strange look of determination on her face, outshining even the silly grins and facial expressions that the drink had caused. The light spilling out from the still-open tavern door was barely touching her, and instead the simple, white light of the stars shone down on her, lighting her features just enough to be seen, and seeming to make her glow as if she were an Elf. It was then, Legolas realized, that he'd realized that she had to have an Elf in her background.  
  
And it was also then when something he'd previously held back suddenly started to grow again, though he had not noticed. Truth to tell, he probably would have never noticed until it was too strong to ignore and shoved itself in his face, except for that afternoon, before they met with Ranora. It had surprised him immensely when Elisandra had so easily and lightly reminded him that he was wearing naught but his trousers. That simple act made him realize that something had changed. No female but his lovers had ever seen him in such a state of undress - he had a habit of at least keeping his tunic and trousers on, no matter where he was or what he was doing. Unlike many of the other male Elves, he didn't like to show off - and Eru knew, he didn't need to. He was almost as popular among the Elven ladies as he was among the human ones.  
  
Yet he had so easily forgotten, and not remembered until being reminded, when it was Elisandra he was talking to. All during his hasty dressing, the meeting with Ranora, and the conversation with Arwen afterwards about whom in Lothlorien was left on these shores that might know of Elisandra's father or mother, he had tried to convince himself that he had been so casual just because Elisandra was blind, and she was such a good friend. But he knew it wasn't true - he knew she could see him perfectly well, she'd told him, and after all, how does one remind another that they're tunicless if they can't SEE if they're tunicless? And he knew what a good friend was - Gimli was one, as was Aragorn. And neither crowded Legolas' thoughts as much as Elisandra - something that had only gotten worse since Ranora's revelations from that afternoon began leading to the conclusion that it was more and more likely that Elisandra could be as much as Half-Elven.  
  
Legolas sighed, and realized he had to admit it to himself, if to no one else. He was, slowly but surely, falling for Elisandra - and it scared him. Because it was like nothing he'd ever felt before in all his thousands of years.  
  
\/---Reviews are greatly appreciated, yes they are. So please, be a nice reader and write a review...---\/ 


	14. Of Fuzziness and Decisions

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Whatever you do, don't even write an original story that requires you to figure out the lunar cycles unless you're prepared for a lot of work. Because, believe me, it ain't fun! *mumbles about spending 3 hours figuring lunar cycles out and not even being finished* Ugh, I suddenly remember why I like writing FanFiction to relax...compared to the stuff you have to figure out for an original story, simple bits of research for FanFiction, like finding an accurate map of Middle-Earth, are no problem! Because the info is already there - you just have to find it. Not make it up and be sure it's actually possible...*end author's complaining here*  
  
Anyways. This chapter was hard to start. And hard to continue. And hard to finish. And just hard to write in general. So, my apologies, it's shorter then the last few chapters - a throw-back to the length of the first couple chapters. Itit also kinda silly and strange. Not my fault! It's aaaaaaaaaaall Leonard Nemoy's fault! And the Pepsi. Yes, the Pepsi is at fault too, isn't it precious? Yes, and the fuzzies, yes, yes it is...I also blame a strange fixation on Eomer/Karl Urban due to my father bringing home 'The Two Towers' soundtrack and me putting 'The Riders of Rohan' on repeat...  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XIV-  
  
-Of Fuzziness and Decisions-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Over the next week, plans and preparations were made for the proposed trip to Rivendell to search for information about Elisandra's father. It was decided that an escort of around ten to fifteen men would accompany...well, whoever would be going to Rivendell. That was the one of the only things that had yet to be decided, really - who would be going on the journey.  
  
The debate went round and round in circles as to who should go - Aragorn couldn't leave unless they called Faramir from Ithilien to watch over things while he was gone. Arwen didn't want to leave Aragorn's side (She seemed slightly paranoid at losing any time with her husband. Legolas commented to Elisandra after that particular discussion that the meaning of 'mortal' must have finally sunk into Arwen's mind - Elisandra agreed.) Arwen and Aragorn refused to let Elisandra go without them. And Legolas going alone would just be odd. But at least one of them, more likely two, had to go. So, while the preparations to leave went on, the four argued amongst themselves as to who should go. And thus, before they knew it, a week had passed, and a company of Dwarves was spotted heading towards the city.  
  
"They move fast for creatures so short." Elisandra commented from her vantage point above the palace courtyard as the Dwarves approached the palace gate.  
  
"That they do." Legolas said. "Surprisingly so. Though they tend to lag over long distances. Quick bursts of speed, or long, steady marches are what they are best at."  
  
"Well, if that's what they need to survive, then that will do. But now, I think, you had best hurry if you are to reach the doors in time to greet them." Elisandra said, looking out the window again and seeing the dwarves already halfway across the courtyard.  
  
"I have plenty of time!" Legolas said with a mischievous grin. Elisandra eyed him.  
  
"What are you planning?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"Nothing." Legolas said innocently.  
  
"I don't believe you." Elisandra stated. "But I doubt I'll be able to stop you, so whatever you're planning, do it and get it over with before suspense and curiosity lead me to ask stupid questions."  
  
"If you say so!" Legolas said cheerfully, then jumped out the window. Elisandra's jaw dropped in shock, and she leaned out the window just in time to see Legolas gracefully land on his feet, three stories below. The party of dwarves, passing by about ten feet away, started and almost drew their weapons when they saw the motion, but relaxed when no weapon came hurtling their way. Legolas, still smiling cheerfully, looked up at Elisandra, waved, and then walked over to the Dwarf leading the party, and upon being recognized, was greeted enthusiastically. Elisandra shook her head as she watched.  
  
"Crazy Jumping Elf." she muttered, then with a last glance out the window, shook her head again and set off to reach the palace doors the NORMAL way.  
  
---  
  
"Legolas!" Gimli greeted Legolas loudly as he approached, and then quickly followed the verbal greeting with a vigorous handshake - it would have been a slap on the back, but he couldn't reach any part of Legolas' back that was suitable for him to slap.  
  
"It is wonderful to see you again, old friend!" Legolas greeted his old friend. "How was your journey?"  
  
"Wonderful!" was Gimli's reply. "We had a bit of trouble with some stray Orc's, but we soon taught them a lesson or two." Legolas chuckled.  
  
"I'm sure you did." he said. "But come; let us speak no more out here. Aragorn is waiting to receive you in the audience chamber, and you may tell all about your journey after that, to all who care to hear it, so you need not repeat yourself."  
  
"Very well!" Gimli said, starting walking towards the palace doors again. "Instead, let us talk about why you decided to jump down three stories to greet me."  
  
"It was the only way to reach you before you entered the palace." Legolas said with a shrug and a lop-sided grin.  
  
"Is that so?" Gimli said as they entered the palace. The guards, seeing Legolas walking with the Dwarves, and already expecting said Dwarves, let them pass without a challenge. "So may I ask what occupied you so thoroughly that you were so unprepared for my arrival?" Gimli asked as they continued down the halls, Legolas taking the lead so as to guide them to the audience chamber where the king would greet them.  
  
"It was not a what, but a who, and that is the who coming towards us right now." Legolas said as he spotted Elisandra coming towards them. Gimli arched an eyebrow as Elisandra approached, obviously wondering if there was something Legolas hadn't told him, but those thoughts disappeared when Legolas introduced Elisandra. "Gimli, this is Lady Elisandra, Aragorn's foster daughter. Elisandra, this is Gimli, son of Glóin." Elisandra gave a small curtsey, while Gimli bowed, and then they started walked again, Elisandra falling into step beside Legolas.  
  
They walked in silence, then, Gimli and Elisandra both apparently wrapped up in their own thoughts, though Legolas could guess what both of them were thinking about - the other one. It was simple intuition and friendship that let Legolas guess where Gimli's thoughts lay, but Elisandra's subtle glances at Gimli let Legolas know who she was thinking about. Why thinking about Gimli caused Elisandra to look like she was about to burst out laughing, however, was beyond Legolas. Before he could ask her about it, however, they reached the audience chamber, and Legolas and Elisandra quickly slipped inside to stand next to Aragorn when he officially welcomed the Dwarves to Minas Tirith.  
  
Aragorn greeted the Dwarves as quickly as was politely possible, then had all of the Dwarves but Gimli ushered off to their rooms. Gimli, it seemed, was to have the special honour of heading off with the king and Legolas to have a conversation in one of the palace gardens. But though they had intended it to be just the three of them, Elisandra, apparently, decided she wanted to be in on the conversation and tagged along. The entire way to the garden, Elisandra looked ready to burst into laughter, and finally Legolas couldn't stand it anymore, and asked why.  
  
"May I ask what you find so amusing, Elisandra?" Legolas asked. Elisandra looked at him for a moment, tilted her head to one side in thought, and then grinned.  
  
"I've never seen Dwarves up close before. They have very...ah, shall we say...fuzzy fëa's." she said, still grinning. A loud 'harrumph!' came from Gimli, where he was walking with Aragorn.  
  
"Is that so?" he said gruffly. Elisandra nodded vigorously.  
  
"It's ah - very child-friendly?" she said, still grinning. Gimli eyed her, and she giggled, then started outright laughing as Gimli became indignant. "I'm sorry, I'd better go...Dwarven fëa's are just entirely to amusing at the moment..." Elisandra said with a giggle, making as if to leave. Aragorn, however, grabbed her arm.  
  
"Calm down before you try and go anywhere." he said dryly. "The last time you tried to walk while laughing, you walked into a wall."  
  
"I did not!" Elisandra said defensively, calming slightly. "Ask Legolas! The last time I laughed when I walked, I didn't run into a single thing!"  
  
"Only because I steered you away from things you could walk into." Legolas said, coughing lightly. Elisandra's jaw dropped in mock shock.  
  
"Ooooh, now I'm definitely going!" she said when she 'recovered', pretending to be hurt, and then flashed a grin at them all before disappearing around a corner. The three stood in the hallway for a moment after she left, staring after her in surprise, then Gimli slowly turned to Aragorn.  
  
"And I thought she was strange before I met her." he said dryly.  
  
"You don't even know the half of it, Gimli." Legolas said, shaking his head.  
  
"Oh?" Gimli asked, arching an eyebrow as they began to walk again.  
  
"Yes, there's this little matter of her father..." Legolas started. And thus, Gimli was inducted into the Great Discussion of Who Would Go Find Elisandra's Father.  
  
---  
  
"Well, the search is for my father, so I should go! And since you and Aragorn cannot, or do not wish, to leave Minas Tirith, then I shall go without you!" Elisandra short back at Arwen. It was the next evening, and after having a relatively private supper with just Aragorn, Arwen, Legolas, Gimli and Elisandra, 'Who Should Go Find Elisandra's Father', Round Uncountable, had begun between Aragorn, Arwen and Elisandra. Gimli and Legolas were wrapped up in their own conversation, though from the glances they kept shooting at the other three occupants of the room, it was obvious they were paying at least a small amount of attention to the other conversation.  
  
"Elisandra, you have never left Minas Tirith in your LIFE. We are not going to let you do so for the first time alone!" Arwen replied with a sigh.  
  
"Why?" Elisandra demanded.  
  
"Because." Elisandra sighed as the expected reply came. That's all she ever got when she wanted to know why Arwen and Aragorn insisted that at least one of them should go with her, or she shouldn't go at all. And their fëa's were no help in the matter - they swirled so heavily with so many different emotions, or stayed so calm, that Elisandra could gain no clue from them.  
  
"Because WHY?" Elisandra asked. Aragorn and Arwen glanced at each other, and for the first time, Aragorn's swirling fëa slowed enough that Elisandra could pick out some of the emotions. It was as she suspected, really - a strong feeling of protection, fear, responsibility, and other like emotions.  
  
"Do remember that I'm not completely blind. I can see living creature's fëa's. I would be able to spot any sort of danger before...before Legolas could if he came with me!" Elisandra tried, and Aragorn's fëa immediately began to swirl too quickly for Elisandra to pick out his emotions again.  
  
"There are dangers out there that have no fëa's for you to see." Aragorn said smoothly.  
  
"I think whoever went with me would be smart enough to keep me from whacking into a branch or going off a cliff." Elisandra said, rolling her eyes. Aragorn opened his mouth to object again, but a gruff voice interrupted him.  
  
"While I should like to stay out of family matters, the lass is right, Aragorn. There's no reason why you shouldn't let her go on the search for her own father." Gimli said. "She would most likely be one of the safest members of the party, in fact, except from arrows. And any wielding arrows and wishing harm to Elisandra have long since fled south, or hidden so deep their hideouts that even they cannot find their way out again." Aragorn opened his mouth again to object, then closed it again, and looked over at Arwen. Elisandra almost cheered as she saw resignation and defeat taking over the swirling emotions of his fëa, and slowly spreading to Arwen's.  
  
"Besides," Legolas commented, "If Gimli and I were to go with her, she would be doubly safe." Gimli spluttered at that.  
  
"I do not recall offering to go!" the Dwarf protested.  
  
"Ah, but I shall be going, so unless you wish to spend the rest of your stay in Minas Tirith without me, you shall have to come." Legolas replied.  
  
"You will not get me back onto that infernal horse of yours!" Gimli shot back.  
  
"If I can ride, so can you, fuzzy." Elisandra commented. Gimli's mouth dropped open in shock, and Elisandra smiled sweetly back. Legolas watched with amusement. Elisandra was proving to have an almost Elven dislike for the dwarf, which was thoroughly returned, though they both tried to be nice about it. It was mostly for his sake that they tried to be nice, Legolas was sure, but it more amused then bothered him, making him wonder if he had acted like that when he had first met Gimli.  
  
"Fine then! I shall go!" Gimli grumbled finally, and Legolas smiled in response. He really hadn't wanted to go without Gimli, and so was quite glad that the dwarf had decided to come, however reluctantly.  
  
"We have not even agreed to let Elisandra go, Legolas." Aragorn said, looking slightly annoyed, and as one, three gazes turned on him, all a mixture of pleading and reproach. Aragorn threw his hands up in the air with a cry of exasperation. "Very well! You three shall go search for Elisandra's father!"  
  
"Thank you!" Elisandra said, reaching over a giving Aragorn a hug.  
  
"But I expect to hear of an uneventful trip except for the finding of Elisandra's father!" Aragorn said sternly.  
  
"We do not have much control over the matter, but we'll warn the Orcs away with the threat of your wrath." Gimli grunted, and Aragorn smiled slightly and nodded. But while Gimli wasn't observant enough, and Elisandra was to busy celebrating, to notice the look in Aragorn's eyes, Legolas noticed it. And he knew that whatever Aragorn had feared in letting Elisandra go on the trip to find her father, those fears had not been soothed in the least. He looked at the king intently, but when Aragorn noticed his gaze, he just smiled reassuringly. Then Gimli was demanding Legolas' attention for something, and with a last glance at the king, Legolas resolved to ask him about it later before turning back to his friend.  
  
\/---Please review, it's very appreciated!---\/ 


	15. Squirrels and Dropping Eaves

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: The track of 'Helm's Deep' from the Two Towers is my muse...I like it a lot, yes I do, it helps me write, yes it does.  
  
Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. School caught up with me, and I got distracted reading 5 archived years worth of an online comic...  
  
Finally, I don't wanna try and translate certain conversations that take place in this chapter to Elvish, so anything that's supposed to be spoken in Elvish will just be put in {these} little bracket things, K? K.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XV-  
  
-Squirrels and Dropping Eaves-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Elisandra bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, looking out over the fëa's swirling through the palace courtyard eagerly. As most of the preparations for leaving had already been completed before Gimli arrived, it had taken very little time - only two days - to finish the preparations for the journey. Now, it was almost time to leave. And Elisandra couldn't help it - she was excited. She was not just leaving the palace, she was leaving the entire city, and even if she was scared of what the outcome of the journey might reveal, she was excited about leaving.  
  
Legolas, if he had been there, would probably have made some remark about that, but he'd remembered something he'd wanted to talk to Aragorn about before they left, and had dashed off only a few minutes before. So now Elisandra was left to her cheery self - at least until Gimli wandered up. She scowled slightly at the dwarf, her good mood dropping immediately. She really didn't know why, but after her initial meeting with the dwarf, she had developed an intense dislike of him. She was sure she could have come to like the dwarf, if he'd been nice to her, but he seemed to return her dislike just as strongly. Every conversation between them that was more then a few lines long tended to result in veiled - or not so veiled, depending on who was in hearing distance - insults.  
  
But now, it seemed, Gimli was not coming for a conversation, but looking for Legolas. He grumbled something when he realized the Elf prince wasn't around, and turned as if to leave, but then changed his mind. He trotted over to where Elisandra was standing on the balcony, and after climbing onto a bench, peered out into the courtyard.  
  
"Nice view." he grunted appreciatively.  
  
"Yes, it is." Elisandra replied, determinedly keeping her attention on the courtyard below.  
  
"Have you seen Legolas lately?" Gimli asked.  
  
"Not lately." Elisandra replied.  
  
"Well, would you know where he is?" Gimli asked.  
  
"Am I supposed to?" Elisandra asked with mild annoyance.  
  
"No, but you always seem to, anyways." Gimli retorted.  
  
"And what if I do? It is he who tells me where he is going." Elisandra replied.  
  
"Humph. Why would he tell you such things?" Gimli said irritably.  
  
"Perhaps because I'm his friend?" Elisandra replied icily. Gimli snorted and muttered something that Elisandra couldn't quite hear, but she wouldn't lower herself enough to ask him to speak up. Instead, she remained looking out over the courtyard, and Gimli finally spoke up again.  
  
"Well, do you or do you not know where he is?" he demanded.  
  
"Perhaps I do. But if you're going to be so rude about asking where he is, I shall not tell you if I do." Elisandra snapped. Gimli snorted and muttered again, and this time Elisandra caught the words 'female' and 'respect'. She almost snapped at him again, but instead turned on her heals and left. Damn dwarf, making her leave the balcony with the best view of the courtyard. Not to mention what he'd done to her good mood.  
  
Elisandra mumbled random threats at the dwarf as she walked along, making her way towards her chambers, where she could maybe have some privacy for the short while that was left before she left. As she walked in that direction, however, she suddenly became aware that down near the end of the hall, Aragorn and Legolas were talking. She couldn't hear them, but in the darkness that was her normal world, Legolas' fëa stood out like a sore thumb.  
  
Not quite knowing why she did so, Elisandra softened her footsteps, walking as quietly and as close to the wall as she could, creeping up on the two figures at the end of the hall. Their backs were turned to her as they looked out a window, and they seemed to be companionably enjoying the view - until you got close. Then you could hear a heated conversation flowing between the two of them.  
  
Elisandra almost sighed in frustration as she heard the heat in their voices, and the speed at which they were talking. She could understand and speak Elvish when it was spoken at normal speeds, but she was by no means fluent in it, like Aragorn and Legolas, and thus had trouble deciphering what they were saying as they talked to each other in Elvish so rapid-fire it almost sounded like garbled Westron. She picked out a few words, though, as well as her name, and it was enough to realize that they were talking about Aragorn's fears in letting her go on the journey.  
  
Then, suddenly, the Elvish stopped, and Elisandra scanned the two's fëa's worriedly, wondering if she made some sound that they'd heard. But they hadn't heard her - Aragorn had simply said something that had shocked Legolas into silence. Now, as Elisandra watched and listened, Legolas looked at the king and began speaking, slow enough for Elisandra to understand.  
  
{And what makes you think she would need protection from that?}  
  
{Many things, my friend, many things. Not the least of which is parental paranoia. I am sure I shall have the same such worry when Eldarion has grown a little. Now, however, I have Elisandra to worry about. I do not want to see her heart broken, Legolas.} Aragorn sighed as he finished, and it - thankfully - covered Elisandra's sharply indrawn breath. As per usually when one eavesdropped, now that she knew what they were talking about, she really wished she hadn't listened, and wanted to leave. But for some reason, her feet remained firmly planted on the ground.  
  
{Nor do I, friend.} Legolas said after a moments pause.  
  
{That is partly what I am afraid of.} Aragorn said, almost sadly. Curiosity shot through Legolas' fëa, and if Elisandra hadn't been so busy desperately trying to convince her feet that yes, they really did want to turn her around and walk away, she would have been curious, too.  
  
{What do you mean?} Legolas asked, and Aragorn looked at the Elf prince intently.  
  
{I am not so much afraid that she shall meet someone who will cause her pain, Legolas, as that she has already met someone who will cause her pain.} he said, and Legolas fell into silence once again, causing Elisandra to pause and think about what her father meant. Elisandra kept very much to herself, and the only male not related to her that she kept any company with at all was Legolas - Gimli really didn't count - so there could be little doubt as to who Aragorn was referring to. And at that realization, Elisandra's feet suddenly wanted to move again, and she quickly and quietly turned and left Aragorn and Legolas to their talk, picking up her pace to almost a jog once she was out of earshot.  
  
Thoughts about what Elisandra had just overheard crowded into her brain, making her falter, but she pushed the thoughts away, instead thinking on where she could go to be alone to think. Her chambers were full of her maids bustling about - Mersana, it had been decided at the last moment, would be coming with Elisandra, and she only had this morning to pack. Elisandra would get no peace there. On the other hand, she might get a welcome distraction. Elisandra steered for her chambers. She could think about what she'd overheard later - if at all. It would probably be best for her to forget that she'd ever heard it, anyways, and she was more then happy to try and do so.  
  
As Elisandra approached her chambers, she slowed once again to a walk, and took a few deep breaths to calm her heart and breathing, which were both racing from the jog through the palace. Then, squaring her shoulders, she stepped into her chambers and chaos. Upon entering, Ineira dumped a pile of cloth into her arms without even looking at her, and told her to hold it for a moment. Elisandra blinked, then half-smiled and did as she was told. Ineira, of course, instantly began apologizing when she turned back to get the pile of cloth again and realized who she'd handed it to. Elisandra told her it would be forgotten if the maid would lead her to a chair, as she had no doubt she'd trip over half a dozen things before she found one herself. Ineira quickly led Elisandra to a chair, and then dove back into the flurry of fëa's that were Elisandra's maids.  
  
And so Elisandra sat in her chair, watching with amusement, until at last, the maids decided they were done packing. True to form, the instant the maids were done packing, a guard knocked on the door and announced that the riders would be leaving shortly, and they needed to get down to the courtyard if they were to be going at all. So then Mersana and the maids quickly lifted her luggage - actually quite small, considering - and set out, with Elisandra following. As they approached the palace doors, Mersana noticed Elisandra trailing along behind, and shooed her ahead of them, saying that it was unfit for her to walk behind them like that. After all, they were her maids.  
  
Elisandra walked out into the courtyard, 'leading' her maids, and watched as they quickly loaded Mersana's things onto a waiting pack horse. Then, suddenly, Legolas and Aragorn appeared in the courtyard, soon followed by Arwen and Gimli.  
  
"Ah, here you are!" Legolas said with a smile as the group walked over to Elisandra. "We were wondering where you were."  
  
"I was, until a short while ago, in my chambers." Elisandra said dryly.  
  
"What a unique place to be." Legolas said with a grin.  
  
"Hmm, indeed." Elisandra said, arching an eyebrow, then grinned back at Legolas.  
  
"Now that we've found you, I'm afraid it's only just in time to say goodbye before leaving." Aragorn said with a tinge of sadness in his voice.  
  
"That's what you get for not checking the obvious places." Elisandra said briskly, and grinned again. The humour was short lived, however, as they fell to the somberness of saying goodbye. The goodbyes were quick, but sincere, and half of them Elisandra more saw then heard, as she watched the emotions flicker through Arwen and Aragorn's fëa's.  
  
Then it was time to mount up. Elisandra eyed the fëa of the horse she was to be riding warily. Legolas and Aragorn had talked her into practicing riding a horse the day before - though it was more like staying on a horse, since she wasn't actually in control of the horse. She had stayed on, true, but not having control over where she was going, and not knowing the distance of a horse's stride, disoriented her on top of making her nervous. She really had no desire to get back on a horse, but she had no desire to walk to Rivendell, either.  
  
So Elisandra accepted Aragorn's boost to help her onto the back of the horse, then settled herself as well as she could, looking about nervously at the other riders already mounted on their horses. She smirked slightly as she caught sight of Gimli's fëa, where it was perched on the back of Legolas' horse - his nerves looked worse then hers. Then Elisandra's view was blocked by Mersana riding over to take her horses reins, and Elisandra composed herself for the ride through the city. There was a few moments delay, and then with a command from Aragorn, the party set off.  
  
The ride through the city wasn't much more interesting then Elisandra's last walk through the city had been, except there were more people about, and they turned to watch the group go by. Some of the people even called out greetings, but that was the extent of the interaction between the people on the street and the group of riders. And, once they left the city, it became apparent to Elisandra how very uninteresting new countryside is when it has little or no life in it and you can only see living things fëa's.  
  
Within two hours of starting out, Elisandra was bored. Legolas and Gimli were chattering away a short ways ahead, and Elisandra was loath to break into their conversation, even if she didn't like Gimli all that much, and Mersana seemed wrapped up in her own thoughts. This sounded like a good idea, so Elisandra dug around in her mind for things to think upon. The instant she started trying to find something to think about, however, the conversation she'd overheard between Aragorn and Legolas popped into her head, and wouldn't leave. So she thought about that, turning it over in her mind.  
  
It was apparent, now, that Aragorn feared that she and Legolas would get romantically involved, and then Legolas would end out breaking her heart. A silly fear, really, for several reasons - she and Legolas would never get romantically involved, and even if they did, she doubted Legolas was the type to break ANYONE'S heart. Unless he did so indirectly by just being incredibly handsome and unavailable, due to one reason or another.  
  
There Elisandra paused, realizing what she'd just thought. She frowned slightly, and wondered if the 'incredibly handsome' comment had come from the other ladies of the court, or her own opinion. Not that any opinion of hers about looks could necessarily be trusted, since the only 'looks' of any kind that she could see were Legolas'. Very limited experience, that. Well, she'd have more experience once she got to Rivendell - after all, Elrohir, Elladan, and Arwen were the only peredhil* still on these shores. Thus, since she could see full Elves in their entirety, she'd get a lot more experience with looks once they reached Rivendell. Though some nagging feeling told her that even then, Legolas would be the best looking out of all the Elves.  
  
Shaking her head, Elisandra turned her attention back to her surroundings, hoping to find something better to think about than Legolas' looks. If she had been able to see her surroundings, she might have found something, but instead, she just had her companion's fëa's. And the fëa of that squirrel in the tree ahead.  
  
Squinting slightly, Elisandra peered at the squirrel, trying to decipher its chaotic fëa. She hadn't seen the fëa's of very many animals in her life - insects and birds, yes, and horse, but not many other animals. So the squirrel's fëa was an interesting to try and decipher. She had concluded, by the time they passed the squirrel, that it was quite satisfied from a good meal, but very annoyed at the noisy people passing below. This was further emphasized by it chittering away madly at them as they passed underneath. Elisandra tried not to grin, and set about finding another small rodent or other animal to pick apart the fëa of.  
  
Elisandra's picking apart of small animals fëa's continued until they stopped for lunch, and then picked up after lunch, until she was finally interrupted by Legolas asking what she was grinning about. After describing what she'd been doing to Legolas and Gimli, they both decided she badly needed something else to do, and dragged her in a conversation about Lothlorien, in which she did more listening then talking, and lasted until they stopped for the night.  
  
---  
  
*Peredhil = Half-Elven (it's used as an actual title, which is why I didn't just translate it in the body of the story like I normally do)  
  
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	16. And The Author Hums Innocently

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Since you all had to wait so long for the last chapter, I figured I'd type up the next chapter as quickly as I could and get it up. So here you go - the chapter that shows how much fun it can be, and how manipulative one can be, when one can see someone's emotions. :)  
  
Now that I've got you worried (if the chapter title didn't already do that) on to the chapter!  
  
Oh, and hiccups are stupid...*hiccup* *growl*  
  
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-No Eyes Needed-  
  
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-Chapter XVI-  
  
-And The Author Hums Innocently-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Unfortunately for Elisandra, as the trip wore on, it became apparent that the only things to do to entertain herself was to talk to someone, or pick apart random creature's fëa's. Also unfortunately, there were very often no random creatures around, and after the first few days, nobody seemed to want to talk. In fact, after the first few days, everybody started acting rather oddly. They talked quietly, if at all, and alertness shone so brightly in their fëa's that it blocked out just about everything else. Even Mersana was on edge. This, naturally, gave Elisandra the feeling that there was something she hadn't been told. She decided, however, that instead of asking, she'd wait and see if someone would tell her what they were being so alert about. They didn't. So Elisandra took matters into her own hands.  
  
Elisandra had to wait for several days until the perfect chance came one evening. While everyone was setting up the camp and preparing for supper, she went over to Mersana, who was doing some sort of needlework - Elisandra could only tell because most of her fëa was still except a small wisp representing her arm - and smiled at the maid sweetly. At first, Mersana didn't notice, but eventually glanced up as she felt someone staring at her. Seeing it was only Elisandra, she glanced back down at her work. Then, after a few more moments of Elisandra staring at her, she sighed and put down her needlework.  
  
"What?" she asked, exasperation shining brightly in her fëa.  
  
"I heard a waterfall shortly before we stopped. I want to take a bath." Elisandra replied.  
  
"Now, Elisandra, you can't just go for a bath in any old pool." Mersana said. "You don't know what could be in the water."  
  
"A few guppies and some bugs." Elisandra said. "I want a bath."  
  
"I did not mean animals - the water could be unclean!" Mersana said scoldingly.  
  
"Which is why there were animals living in it." Elisandra said sarcastically. "Really Mersana, you think I learned nothing from all those books I'm always having read to me? The water is perfectly clean. I have been traveling for over a week, getting dusty and dirty and sticky, and I want a bath!" Elisandra saw mixed emotions flicker through Mersana's fëa - worry and fear most prominent. Also a great lot of stubbornness. "Come on, I'm not used to traveling at all, and this traveling for so long without even being able to have a bath is just...ugh." Mersana seemed to be wavering a bit, but since Elisandra didn't really want a bath, but wanted them to tell her why they were all on such a high alert, she went over the top and batted her eyelashes at the maid.  
  
"No!" Mersana said firmly. "This is not easy for me, either, but both of us must just get used to it! We cannot go off by ourselves, and certainly none of the guards will be able to accompany us to a bath!"  
  
"But I REALLY want a bath! I can feel the dust coating my skin!" Elisandra complained. "Why can't we just go off by ourselves?"  
  
"Because!" Mersana snapped.  
  
"If you can't give me a better reason then that, I'll go whether I have your permission or not." Elisandra said sulkily. Mersana snorted in disbelief, but Elisandra saw the alarm that she would do just that shoot through Mersana's fëa.  
  
"You would not be able to find your way to the pool, child, so that is an empty threat!" Mersana said, the alarm in her fëa disappearing with that realization.  
  
"I know where the road is. I follow it back until I hear the waterfall, then follow the sound of the waterfall to the pool. Simple!" Elisandra said cheerfully. Alarm and disbelief shot through Mersana's fëa. Then protectiveness entered at full strength, and Elisandra watched with inward curiosity as she almost SAW Mersana digging her heals in and preparing to do anything to stop Elisandra from going to take a bath. Legolas, naturally, chose that moment to walk up.  
  
"Is there a problem?" he asked, glancing between Elisandra and Mersana's faces and quickly figuring out something was going on.  
  
"Mersana said I can't have a bath." Elisandra said flatly, watching Legolas' fëa for his response. But, surprisingly, at that moment, Legolas seemed to somehow cause all of his emotions to go completely blank, and Elisandra couldn't read them. Curiosity crept into Elisandra's face as to how he could do that, but then Legolas spoke, and she was pulled back to the argument at hand.  
  
"And she is absolutely right." he said.  
  
"Why?" Elisandra demanded. "It's not like we're in any danger! We're still in Gondor!" At that, Legolas glanced over at Mersana, and Elisandra saw a hidden conversation pass between them with different facial expressions on Legolas' part, and emotions flitting through Mersana's fëa.  
  
"Even in the best of time, the basest of evils is never completely wiped out." Legolas said finally, turning back to Elisandra. She peered at him, trying to decipher what he meant, but she really had no clue, and his fëa was still, somehow, hidden from her.  
  
"Look, if there is any danger, I will probably see it before any of you do. I can see any living thing; forests don't block my vision as badly as yours!" Elisandra said. Mersana opened her mouth to object, but Legolas silenced the maid with a look.  
  
"Perhaps you are right, Elisandra." Legolas said smoothly, turning back to Elisandra, and she blinked. What could have them so on edge that they wouldn't even tell her what it was? But before she could wonder about it more, Mersana stood up, in a huff, and went over to Elisandra's tent to prepare their things for a bath. Legolas disappeared into his own tent, and his form immediately became blurry through the fabric, but Elisandra also saw the glow increase slightly, as if his emotions had re-entered his fëa.  
  
It was only a few minutes later that Elisandra and Mersana waved goodbye to the guard on watch, and went off along the forest floor. And it wasn't long after that that Elisandra got thoroughly distracted from thinking about what danger everyone was hiding from her and how Legolas could hide his emotions from her by deciding that she wanted to walk barefoot over the forest floor. She had, after all, walked over nothing but carefully made paths all her life, and wanted to feel this new terrain under her feet. But Mersana staunchly refused to let Elisandra take off her boots - which were in the style of Aragorn's ranger boots, for practicality - and went on and on about how Elisandra could cut her foot or some such nonsense. The argument lasted all the way to the pool, where it became a moot point.  
  
Sighing, Elisandra let Mersana help her strip out of her clothes and wade into the water. Then, as Mersana began to help bathe Elisandra, Elisandra began thinking. It really bothered her that Mersana and Legolas wouldn't tell her what they thought was so dangerous that they had to keep on constant alert. The fact that they wouldn't tell her only made her wonder if it was really that big a deal - but it had to be, since they were all on such high alert. So Elisandra ran through all the things she'd heard about that might be troubling the north eastern reaches of Gondor or southern reaches of Rohan, in hopes of figuring it out herself. But she'd been so caught up in this business about her father, she'd barely been in the courts at all, and had heard no news of the outside world for quite awhile. Inwardly scolding herself, Elisandra instead turned her mind to how Legolas could block her from being able to see his emotions like that, but just then Mersana tugged heavily on her hair.  
  
"Ow, what was that for?" Elisandra asked crankily, rubbing the new sore spot on her head.  
  
"Pay attention! You boasted that you would be able to spot any danger to us from far away because of your vision, so you should at least look!" Mersana scolded. "And besides that, since we're already here, I'm going to have a bath as soon as you're finished, which you basically are." Mersana then directed Elisandra to the bank, where she dried herself and then sat down to wait for Mersana to finish bathing. Remembering Mersana's scolding, she kept a watch on the surrounding forest, occasionally turning around to look back towards the camp.  
  
On one such turning to look behind herself, the hand Elisandra was putting out to steady herself came into contact with her boots. Hearing a splash from Mersana in the pool, Elisandra suddenly got an idea. She grinned to herself, and then glanced at Mersana to make sure the maids back was turned before moving the boots to a more...precarious spot. Elisandra then hummed to herself as she looked around, continuing her watch as unusual, and waiting until Mersana finished her bath. As Mersana got out, Elisandra rose and - quite accidentally - knocked her boots into the water. Faking surprise, Elisandra's head whipped towards the sound.  
  
"What was that?" she demanded of her maid. Mersana looked into the water, and exasperation entered her fëa for the second time that day as she saw what had made the noise.  
  
"Your boots have fallen into the water." she said. "And look, the splashes have gotten your dress wet, as well!" Mersana muttered over this for a few moments, then spoke again. "Well, there's nothing for it, I guess. Put on the dress and stay here while I run back to the camp and get you another dress and a spare pair of shoes."  
  
"I can walk back barefoot! The dress can't be that bad!" Elisandra protested.  
  
"It IS that bad, as you'll discover when you put it on!" Mersana said, putting the dress in Elisandra's arms. Even without putting it on, Elisandra could feel very wet fabric on her arm, and sighed. One good plan gone awry. Elisandra fought to get the dress on - wet dresses were very un-co-operative - while Mersana dressed and put on her boots, then helped Elisandra get the dress the rest of the way on.  
  
"Now stay here and stay QUIET." Mersana said warningly, and Elisandra saw the worry enter Mersana's fëa, tinged very heavily with fear, and then the maid was off, walking back to camp. Elisandra sighed, and sat down to wait for Mersana's return. She tried her game of picking apart an animal's fëa, but there were no animals within sight. So she tried, instead, to see if she could spot the glow of fëa's that was the camp. Peering off the way Mersana had gone, she saw absolutely nothing for quite awhile, then, all of the sudden, as if her vision had suddenly improved, she saw a hefty glow of fëa's - a really hefty glow. It was undoubtedly the camp, but she didn't think is had glowed THAT much when she had been there. But perhaps another group of travelers had come down the road and had joined then camp while she and Mersana had been bathing.  
  
Then, suddenly, one of the fëa's flickered and went out. Elisandra went completely still, knowing without a doubt that something was very, very wrong. The only way a fëa could flicker out like that was if its owner died, unless there was something she was completely unaware of. And the fëa that had flickered out was too large and complex to have been an animal's. The camp was being attacked. Elisandra knew it without a doubt, and opened her mouth to call to Mersana, but remembered the warning to stay quiet, and just after remembering that, realized that yelling for her maid to come back would not be a good thing if the camp was being attacked. Instead, Elisandra remained completely still, her eyes focused on the camp, and watched more and more fëa's flicker out. She dearly wished she could have differentiated between the fëa's, and found out who was winning, but they were blurry from this distance, just bits of light to her.  
  
Still, instead of running or hiding like any sensible person would do, Elisandra remained fixated on the camp, watching the fëa's swirl and occasionally flicker and go out. And she continued to watch, with growing horror, as a new fëa entered her vision, approaching the camp. When it got close to the camp, it paused, and then started to run back the way it had come, only to suddenly fall, flicker, and go out.  
  
Elisandra screamed - or at least, tried to. At the last moment, a hand suddenly clamped over her mouth, muffling the scream. As soon as Elisandra realized this, she stopped screaming and jerked away from the hand, preparing another scream. The scream died in her throat, however, as she caught sight of a hand - an actual hand, not the wisp that represented a hand in a fëa. Which meant Legolas. Or some other Elf, but following the hand up to the face quickly revealed that it was, indeed, Legolas.  
  
"Screaming when there's a band of thirty or so Orcs less then a league away is not a very good idea!" Legolas hissed, and Elisandra's eyes widened in shock.  
  
"Orcs?" she asked stupidly.  
  
"Yes, Orcs!" Legolas spat. "They have been particularly bad near Isengard these past few years, which was why we were planning on crossing the mountains farther north. But it seems they have made their way farther east then we thought."  
  
"So that is what you were all tense over..." Elisandra said.  
  
"Yes, and apparently with good reason." Legolas said grimly. "The band is large, and mostly Uruk-Hai. The captain of the escort and I had a brief talk after the attack began, and we decided it was best for everyone to split up and get away as best they could, making their own way to either Rivendell or Minas Tirith. Gimli and I managed to get two of the horses to get away on. He is waiting off to the north."  
  
"So we're just going to run?" Elisandra asked.  
  
"There is nothing we can do. The Orc's will leave none who stay alive, and those that do live will have the best chance to continue doing so by running." Legolas said. "Believe me, I wish we were not running, but it is useless to fight when the battle is already lost. Now come, we need to get away as quickly as we can."  
  
"OK, but hand me my boots first?" Elisandra said reluctantly, looking at the camp one last time. At Elisandra's question, Legolas seemed to notice, for the first time, what state her clothing was in, and smiled slightly.  
  
"Get in a water fight?" he asked.  
  
"Pushed my boots in so I could walk back barefoot and ended out splashing my dress." Elisandra said grumpily. "Boots please?" Legolas chuckled, and handed Elisandra her still sopping-wet boots, which she then proceeded to struggle with for several minutes until she got them on.  
  
"Ew, wet boots." Elisandra said, making a face.  
  
"Well, they are all you have now." Legolas said. "Come!" Then he set off through the forest, with Elisandra following behind as quickly as she could. After several minutes of jogging through the forest, Elisandra spotted Gimli and two horse's fëa's ahead. Legolas apparently spotted the horses and Gimli at the same time, and sped up slightly so that they reached them quite quickly. Legolas quickly helped Elisandra mount her horse, then jumped onto Arod and hauled Gimli up behind him. He then took Elisandra's reins, handed them to Gimli, spurred his horse into a trot, and they were off through the forest.  
  
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	17. About Damn Time

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Hee hee. In the middle of writing this, I got a rather crazy idea for a plot twist - have it that Legolas or Gimli arranged the attack on the camp so they could elfnap Elisandra for some...odd reason. Crazy idea, yes? What's that, a resounding yes? Thought so. :)  
  
Anywho. This is the longest chapter to date, and it's also the one where I warn you to take the rating seriously. It's the highest rating I can give this story unless I want to go to 'R', but I reserve that for stories with graphic detail about certain things, which there isn't in this story. But if FanFiction.Net had the rating of 14A, this story - and especially this chapter - would be rated that. So you have been warned - long chapter ahead with a strong rating for *ahem* adult themes.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
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-Chapter XVII-  
  
-About Damn Time-  
  
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They were staring at him. He could feel it. Not only in the silence that had descended around their little trio - always a bad sign for him - but in the itch between his shoulders. But he would not give in. He would not turn around and look at them, or ask them what they wanted - he'd only be met with insane grins or laughter, or pointed remarks about food, anyways.  
  
Unfortunately for him, his two companions had almost unlimited patience - probably stemming from the fact that besides staying on their respective horses, neither of them had anything to do. Finally, with a sigh, Legolas gave in, and turned to look at Elisandra.  
  
"What is it this time?" he asked tiredly.  
  
"When can we stop?" Elisandra asked innocently. Legolas rolled his eyes - ah yes, the other option. A sensible question, just to throw him off and ensure that he kept on paying attention to them.  
  
"When the sun sets." Legolas replied, then turned back to the front. After a moment, he felt a tap on his shoulder.  
  
"Yes Gimli?" he asked.  
  
"Is their any food left from last night?" Gimli asked.  
  
"If there was, do you think I would have gone hunting for lunch?" Legolas asked, annoyed.  
  
"Yes." Gimli replied. Legolas eyed the nearest tree and wondered if he could jump off Arod and reach and climb it before Gimli and Elisandra caught him. He decided that while he would probably be able to, it would not be a good idea to give Gimli such a story to spread once they got to Rivendell.  
  
"So?" Elisandra asked, pulling Legolas out of his musings.  
  
"No, there's no food left from last night." Legolas answered with a sigh, suddenly wishing that Elisandra and Gimli had never decided to bond over the subject of food. They still argued about everything else, but in food and causing Legolas annoyance, they were always in complete agreement. It was like traveling with a pair of bickering hobbits, only more annoying.  
  
And there they went, staring at him again. Annoyed, Legolas suddenly kicked Arod into a gallop, causing Elisandra's horse - its reins still held in his hands - to follow. The startled yelps that came from behind him gave Legolas immense satisfaction, and even better, once they slowed down, neither Elisandra nor Gimli started staring at him again.  
  
"Gimli, why on earth are you thinking of rabbits?" Elisandra's question broke the silence, and startled the dwarf behind Legolas immensely.  
  
"What?" Gimli asked.  
  
"Your fëa - there's rabbits fëa's in it." Elisandra replied matter-of-factly.  
  
"You can see that?" Gimli asked after a silence.  
  
"Only sometimes, when someone's really bored and focusing solely on one thought." Elisandra replied. "So why are - were - you thinking of rabbits?"  
  
"I was remembering one of Master Samwise's stews, if you must know." Gimli replied.  
  
"Huh." Elisandra said, and then added after a few moments pause, "Now I'm hungry..." Legolas waited for the staring to start again, but to his surprise, it didn't. Instead, there was absolute silence from Gimli and Elisandra.  
  
"The mountains." Elisandra's abrupt announcement startled Legolas, and he looked over his shoulder at her just as Gimli 'harrumphed. Legolas watched Elisandra for a few more minutes, hoping for an explanation of what she meant, but she seemed entirely focused on something else, and he turned his attention back to the path.  
  
"A barrel of ale." Elisandra's next announcement didn't startle Legolas as badly, but he still looked at her curiously as Gimli 'harrumphed again - only to find that Elisandra was still absorbed in whatever it was she was doing, and not paying any attention to him.  
  
"A really big eagle." Legolas didn't even bother to turn around at Elisandra's next announcement, nor the one after that - or the one after that - or the one after that. The curiosity as to why she was listing off the most bizarre bunch of items he'd ever heard of ate at him, however, and finally, he gave in to it.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"Guessing what Gimli's thinking of." Elisandra replied, and Gimli 'harrumphed again. Legolas shook his head.  
  
"I should have guessed." he muttered.  
  
"I could try and guess what you're thinking of." Elisandra said. "Though it would be harder, since I can see so little of your fëa compared to Gimli's."  
  
"I think I shall be quite content if you stick to guessing Gimli's thoughts." Legolas answered with a sigh. And that is exactly what Elisandra went back to doing - for the entire rest of the day. On the one hand, Legolas was left completely alone to steer the horses through the wilderness, but on the other hand, he was now very very bored. Consequently, he started thinking about their journey, and wondering if Aragorn had heard about the Orc attack yet, and wondering how many of the guards had gotten away. His mind, however, slipped in to focus on the 'Aragorn hearing' part of that thought, and that brought to mind the conversation that they'd had before leaving.  
  
He'd quite forgotten to ask Aragorn why he was really afraid for Elisandra to go on the trip until the morning they'd left. Then Elisandra had reminded him by commenting on how Aragorn had been quite unreasonable about not wanting to let her go, and he'd quickly excused himself and gone off to find his friend and ask.  
  
The answer Legolas had gotten, however, was not what he had expected. It had taken him several minutes of arguing to get the ex-ranger to even admit that there was some other reason for him not wanting Elisandra to go, and then several more minutes to discover what it was. And when he had, he had been so startled that he'd just stopped and stared at Aragorn for a moment. Though Aragorn hadn't known he was right, he had already guessed of Legolas' growing feelings for Elisandra, and as most parents are prone to, had become worried that Legolas would end out breaking Elisandra's heart in some manner or another.  
  
Legolas, not quite knowing how Aragorn would react if he knew that Legolas did indeed have feelings for Elisandra of the more-than-friendly type, had hedged around the question. Somehow - even he couldn't remember how - he had managed to convince that he would not break Elisandra's heart, while at the same time saying nothing whatsoever about whether or not he and Elisandra would become romantically involved. It had been a fine line, and he was sure that as soon as Aragorn had sat down and thought about the conversation, he'd figured out what Legolas had done. But as there had been no messengers from Minas Tirith ordering them to turn around, he had to assume that Aragorn was not terribly worried about it. Either that or Arwen wasn't, and had convinced Aragorn it wasn't something to worry over.  
  
"I say the sun's set." Gimli grunted from behind Legolas suddenly, and quite loudly, startling Legolas out of his thoughts.  
  
"I still maintain it set several hours ago." Elisandra muttered. Legolas, knowing he'd be called on to break up this argument, glanced to the west to check on the sun.  
  
"Nonsense, it only went behind the mountains." Gimli told Elisandra.  
  
"Nonetheless, we shall be stopping as soon as we find a suitable spot." Legolas interrupted.  
  
"About time, too." Elisandra and Gimli said at the same time, then immediately looked at each other suspiciously. Legolas chuckled to himself, though unfortunately not quietly enough. He immediately felt the two's gaze's turn to him, and he cleared his throat loudly and went about looking for a place to stop for the night. He found it not much farther on, in a large clump of trees. The trees were on a rare hill, with a just as rare creek running by on the north side of the hill. They'd have to cross that creek tomorrow in order to continue, but for now, they stayed on the southern side of it and left the path and rode to the crown of the hill. As he had anticipated, Legolas could see for many miles around from the top of the hill, and noticed with satisfaction that many of the trees were old enough for him to climb. He would be able to see even farther if he sat in the top of one of those trees for his watch.  
  
Elisandra and Gimli seemed to like the spot, as the instant the horses stopped, they both slid ungracefully off the horses. Gimli immediately set about gathering wood for a fire, while Elisandra just stood there, looking up at Legolas. Once again, as he had been every night for the past two weeks of travel, he was reminded how dependant on other people Elisandra was when she wasn't someplace she knew.  
  
Smiling inwardly, Legolas dismounted, and then led Elisandra over to a nearby tree, where she sat down and waited while he and Gimli set up the camp. It was a routine they'd perfected over the past few days - once it had became apparent that Elisandra was more of a nuisance then a help if she tried to help set up camp. Gimli and Legolas didn't mind - they were used to setting up camps by themselves, in fact they'd spent quite awhile doing so when they'd traveled together after the War of the Ring. Elisandra felt a little awkward about not being able to help, but then Legolas pointed out that if she slept while he and Gimli set up camp and made supper, she could take a longer turn on watch. This was advantageous to all of them, since Elisandra was the best watch person of them all with her sight, and both Legolas and Gimli welcomed the extra sleep.  
  
So, by the time they'd gotten a fire going and were cooking a meal over it - mostly things foraged as they traveled - Elisandra was sleeping soundly underneath the tree where Legolas had left her. She remained that way until Gimli waved a woven leaf plate - made by Legolas - loaded with delicious smelling food under her nose. She woke quickly at that, and ate the meal quickly. From there their routine continued much as it had the past few nights - Legolas cleaned up after supper while Elisandra took first watch and Gimli went to sleep. When done cleaning, Legolas found a space - on the opposite side of the fire from where Elisandra was keeping watch - and slipped into his world of elvish sleep.  
  
It was around one in the morning that Legolas woke himself to go replace Elisandra on watch. She was sitting near the fire, staring over it into the darkness. Legolas and Gimli had to keep their backs to the fire when on watch, since it ruined their night vision for some time, but it did not do so to Elisandra. So she sat close to the fire and stayed warm while still being able to keep an excellent watch. Elisandra, however, for once seemed to not be paying attention to her watch, and looked lost in thought instead. That was confirmed when Legolas touched her lightly on the shoulder and she started.  
  
"I hear most people pay attention when they sit on watch." Legolas teased, though softly so as not to wake Gimli.  
  
"Sorry, I was lost in thought." Elisandra replied sheepishly.  
  
"So I saw. Something on your mind?" Legolas asked, crouching down next to her. Elisandra paused, and seemed to consider before answering.  
  
"Nothing important, really. I heard running water somewhere to the north -" Legolas and Gimli had both been incredibly surprised to learn that Elisandra could tell directions out in the middle of the wilderness - she said Aragorn had taught her one summer when she complained of always feeling turned around when she went to the gardens. "- and found myself wishing for a bath. That reminded me of the last time I had a bath." Elisandra frowned as she finished, slipping into thought once more. Legolas was silent, as well, lost in thought himself. As a rule, they had not mentioned the Orc attack since it had happened, unless there was great need - which there hadn't been yet. Legolas and Gimli had made some good friend among the guards - some of who were ex-rangers from the north, and all had fought in the War of the Ring. And Legolas had told Gimli about Mersana being shot. So they simply did not speak of it - it was too painful for all of them. Now that the subject had been broached, however, they discovered that there wasn't much to talk about. Instead, Elisandra went back to the main point of her thought.  
  
"Still, I would like another bath, if the water is clean. Or at least a dip to rinse most of the dirt off me and my clothes." she said, suddenly pulling herself out of her thoughts. "I know I must look horrible, and I feel absolutely coated in grime." Legolas hesitated, and Elisandra saw it in his fëa. "I know it's not yet safe to go alone - but you should be able to find a tree from which you can watch both the camp and the approach to the water." she said. "If you say no, however, I shall not argue."  
  
"No, you are right; it will be no problem to find a tree from which I can watch over both you and Gimli. But no shoving your boots in the water this time!" Legolas said with a grin. Elisandra had found that Gimli was greatly annoyed by the squishy noises she could make with her boots when they were wet, and had spent all the time she could until her boots dried making squishy noises to annoy Gimli. It had not been pleasant for Legolas to have an annoyed dwarf behind him. Elisandra, however, had not had to deal with an annoyed dwarf behind her, and thus laughed lightly at the memory.  
  
"I promise." she said, rising from her seat by the fire. "It wasn't all that pleasant to wear the boots, anyways. Annoying Gimli was more of a way to share my discomfort then anything else."  
  
"Well, you could have shared your discomfort with him when he was NOT sitting behind me." Legolas grumped good-naturedly, and then rose from his crouch with a grin, which Elisandra returned.  
  
"Now, where have you hidden our scanty belongings this time?" she asked, looking around as if she'd suddenly be able to see the packs. Legolas smiled, then walked over and fetched the pack that contained most of her belongings. Her 'belongings' were really just her bathing things, the dress she'd worn to the bath the day of the attack, and some of Legolas' tunic's and breeches that fit her. They'd found that, since she only wore one dress and there was no one around to see, anyways, it was much easier for Elisandra to just wear some of Legolas' clothes then to have to find a stream every few days and have her go off by herself and wash her dress. Now, however, Elisandra took all the clothes in her pack, along with the soap and other bathing materials, making Legolas arch an eyebrow.  
  
"Might as well wash them all while I'm down there. There's a good breeze, so they should dry by morning." Elisandra said in answer. Legolas nodded, then after both he and Elisandra took a look around to make sure there was nothing dangerous within their sight, Legolas led Elisandra down the hill to the creek. Elisandra smiled as they got closer and confessed that she hadn't thought that there would be that much water, though she was grateful, since if it had just been a little country stream she hadn't know how she was going to manage. Her smile widened even more when they reached the stream and Legolas announced it clean enough to bath in, and her testing of the water found it to be cool, but not cold. Then Legolas left to find a tree to sit and watch from, and Elisandra set about having her bath.  
  
To be fair to Legolas, he really did try to pay attention to the surrounding countryside and keep a good watch. But the moon was up, and the sky was clear, and somehow he had ended up with a perfect view of where Elisandra was bathing. And Elisandra had started singing while she bathed. He kept to his watch as long as he could stand, but the song called to him - it was an ancient elvish ballad of two Elven lovers; Legolas had no clue where Elisandra had learned it, and was alternating between really wishing she hadn't and being really glad she had. Finally, however, the pull of the song and thoughts of the one singing it became too strong, and let his gaze leave the countryside and fall to where Elisandra was bathing.  
  
The sight nearly took his breath away. The moonlight was dancing upon the water, and her skin, almost pearly in colour, looked as if it was dotted with thousands of stars where the moonlight reflected off the water on her skin. Her hair hung down her back to her waist, free and unbraided, and shone like ithilden.  
  
Her back was to him when he first looked, but even as he watched, she turned to get something from the bank, and Legolas gripped one of the tree branches so hard his fingers left dents to keep himself from rushing down there. As it was, he could no longer bear to be so far from her, and after he released the branch he had been gripping, he left his post, carefully leaping from tree to tree, until he was as close as he dared to where Elisandra was bathing.  
  
It was risky, and he knew it, for Elisandra could see him no matter where he was. He could only hope that she had not seen his previous post and assumed that this was the one he had chosen if she turned to look for him. But Legolas had a feeling that that would not be - for he doubted anyone would need the ability to see fëa's to know what was going through his mind at that moment. Indeed, as he sat in the tree he became uncomfortably aware of exactly what was going through his mind. But he could not turn away, even though his mind screamed at him of his duty to watch for enemies. His heart, soul and body had long ago pushed his mind aside and taken over, anyways.  
  
---  
  
Elisandra was clean, and thus she was happier then she had been in a long time. It was a simple thing to be happy about, and she it simply happen, he happiness showing through song. She had learned the song a long time ago, when the Lords and Ladies of the hall had still delighted in hearing Arwen and Aragorn sing Elvish songs. She had no idea what the song meant, as she wasn't even to have supposed to have heard it - her having supposed to have been in bed when Arwen and Aragorn sang it - but it called to her, and she had only had to hear it a few times before she had it memorized, engraved in her memory and never forgotten.  
  
Oh, she had heard many other elvish songs since then, most of them a lot more then this one, but this one stuck in her mind, and she always hummed or sang it when she was happy. So she sang the song, little knowing what effect it was having on its one listener.  
  
I wasn't until after Elisandra had finished bathing, and all her clothes were drying, that she looked up to find where Legolas was. She found that he was a lot closer then she'd thought he'd be, and after a moment, she realized he was watching her. If she'd had her wits about her, she probably would have blushed and dashed behind a tree, as she was wearing only a tunic, and not a very long one at that. But something caught hold of her as she locked gazes with Legolas, and she didn't move except to tilt her head to one side.  
  
They looked at each other for quite some time, simply looking, and for once Elisandra did not look to Legolas' fëa to discover what he was feeling and thinking. Instead, she did as he and all others in the world did, and scanned his face and his posture to discover what was on his mind. And as she did so, as so often happens, she became aware of something inside of herself - something that she hadn't even known had existed in her, in fact, had scoffed at ever existing less then two weeks before. Love. The realization that she felt so strong an emotion toward Legolas, who until this moment she had thought of only as a friend, terrified her. If she hadn't suddenly been rooted to the ground, she would have started running and not stopped until she reached Rivendell.  
  
She almost started anyways, despite her rooted feet, when Legolas suddenly stood and leaped to another tree, closer than the one he had been in before. As he moved, his gaze never left Elisandra's, and she felt shivers run down her spine. The shivers distracted her so much that she almost didn't notice that in reaction to Legolas' movement, she took a step forward. Almost.  
  
Her mind noticed her reaction, and all of the sudden it began screaming at her, asking her what she thought she was doing, and did she realize what she was wearing, and babbling on about Legolas needing to keep watch over the camp. Something, however, pushed her mind away, muting it, until all that was left was the urge to be in Legolas' arms. The urge was so strong that she took another step forward. She intending to continue until she had reached the tree where Legolas was, but before she could continue, Legolas himself stood and sped through the tree tops until he was suddenly in the tree in front of her, looking down at her even as she looked up at him.  
  
"Elisandra." his voice was deep and throaty, with a tone to it that Elisandra had never heard before. And as Elisandra looked at his fëa, her mind screamed at her as to why she had never heard the tone in his voice. She had seen the emotions in his fëa in other fëa's before, but always in small bits, and usually gone quickly. But now he crouched on a branch above her, and she wondered how he could contain such a swirling, violent mixture of lust, passion and love. Just looking at it gave her goosebumps. But she pushed her thoughts aside, knowing thinking had no place here, and instead opened her mouth to say the answer that was being waited for.  
  
"Legolas." Elisandra's reply startled herself, with the change in her voice. It had not just gone deeper with her feelings, but something else had changed - it was indescribable, but there was a change, and she knew that it was rooted someplace deeper then in the moment. But once more she pushed all thoughts aside and focused on the moment as Legolas suddenly dropped down from the tree to stand in front of her.  
  
---  
  
There were mere inches between them, and each could feel the heat radiating off of the other. Still they stood motionless, as if unsure of what to do. Then, tentatively, Legolas brought his hand to Elisandra's cheek.  
  
It was all that was needed.  
  
Within moments, they were locked in a fierce embrace, their kiss passionate and wild. When they drew back from that first kiss, both of their eyes shone with fear at the intensity of their emotions. But seeing the fear in each others eyes, they banished it, and locked themselves in a passionate kiss once more. It wasn't long after that that their clothes lay scattered on the ground beside where they now lay.  
  
\/---*cough* Ehm...reviews would be really appreciated...I'm gonna go...uh...clean the garage or...something...---\/ 


	18. Dazed and Confused

Disclaimer: Me no owny anything but Elisandra!  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Ah yes, another difficult chapter to write...So many things to cause and reveal, and no idea how to do it. I hate it when chapters are pains in the arses to write. *mutter* On the plus side most of the horribly hard to write chapter was a nice setup for a scene with a Nice!Gimli. :) Still, short chapter.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XVIII-  
  
-Dazed and Confused-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Elisandra woke to the feeling of sun shining on her, and a warm body pressed against her back. It took her only a moment to remember the reason for both of them, and promptly blushed furiously. She quickly recovered from that, however, and turned over so she was facing Legolas. His eyes were open in Elvish sleep, and his fëa glittered with contentment. He looked peaceful and Elisandra smiled slightly at the sight, and then frowned. Something didn't feel quite right...  
  
It took her a few moments to realize what it was that was bothering her, and when she did realize what it was, she stiffened in shock. Her eyes were closed. How in Arda could she see Legolas if her eyes were closed? With that thought, her eyes flew open. But that wasn't quite right, either. She couldn't seem to see Legolas' fëa now that her eyes were open. And the details of his face were somehow clearer and sharper than before.  
  
Frowning, Elisandra propped herself up on her elbow to see if it was just an odd angle. As she did so, she caught a flash of green behind him. Her head snapped towards the flash of colour, expecting to see someone - most likely Gimli - though not quite knowing what she'd say if she did see someone. What she found, however, stunned her into speechlessness.  
  
It was close to half an hour later when Legolas woke to find Elisandra propped up on her elbow, staring over his shoulder in opened-mouthed shock. Quickly, he glanced behind himself, already preparing to leap into a fighter's crouch, but he saw nothing. Curious, he turned back to Elisandra and lifted his hand and waved it in front of her face to try to get her attention. There was no reaction. Now thoroughly worried, Legolas propped himself up on his elbow so he was completely blocking Elisandra's line of sight.  
  
"Elisandra?" he asked worriedly. There was a moments pause, then Elisandra looked up at him with a dazed expression.  
  
"The sky is blue." she said weakly. Legolas blinked.  
  
"And?" he asked.  
  
"The SKY is BLUE." Elisandra said, her voice stronger this time. Legolas looked at her in confusion, wondering why on Arda she was telling him the sky was blue, which he already knew since he'd seen it every day for his entire life - and suddenly it hit him.  
  
"You can see it?!" he exclaimed with his eyes wide. Elisandra nodded once, still looking dazed.  
  
"Not just it, but everything. I do not know how or why, but I just woke up, and..." Elisandra said, motioning to her eyes, letting the gesture fill in what she didn't have the nerve to voice yet, lest it turn out to be nothing but a dream and disappear.  
  
"Perhaps it is best not to ask how or why." Legolas said with a soft smile, brushing some of Elisandra's hair behind her ears. He felt her shiver slightly as he did so, and he casually glanced up to his hand, only to suck in a shocked breath.  
  
"Legolas?" Elisandra asked, looking up at him curiously. After a moment, Legolas wrenched his gaze back to Elisandra's face, his eyes sparkling.  
  
"I think my theory about you having close to Half-Elven blood in you has just been proven correct." he said with an impish grin, and Elisandra looked at him strangely. In response, still grinning, he grabbed her hand and brought it up to her ear. When she felt the point that was now on her ear, her eyes widened and she squeaked, her arm suddenly collapsing underneath her so she fell onto her back. This, of course, brought the sky back into her field of vision, and she just lay there in dazed confusion until Legolas appeared above her.  
  
"We should really get dressed and get up to camp before the sun gets to high. Otherwise Gimli is going to come looking for us." he said with an arched eyebrow.  
  
"I doubt he would be able to find us." Elisandra replied with a snort. "He has no tracking abilities to speak of."  
  
"Perhaps not, but when he finds your things gone, he will figure out where you are, at least." Legolas replied with a small smile as he sat up, and Elisandra snorted again.  
  
"From my experience, all he thinks about is food and ale. He would have trouble thinking of anything else long enough to figure anything out." she said, also sitting up.  
  
"Indeed." was Legolas' response as he now grinned heartily and set about finding his clothes. Elisandra eyed Legolas suspiciously, but that resulted in her becoming distracted by not only Legolas' rather bare body, but all the pretty colours that she could now see. In the end, Legolas had to pull her back to the business at hand, though the sight of Elisandra sitting there, completely absorbed in him and wearing nothing at all, almost distracted Legolas himself.  
  
Still, a short while later, they wandered back into camp to find Gimli wide awake and the horses packed, and a cold breakfast waiting for them.  
  
"And where were you two?" Gimli grunted as they quickly ate their breakfast. Elisandra was entirely to busy eating and looking around at any and everything to answer, and wouldn't have even if she hadn't been busy, anyway, so it was left to Legolas to answer.  
  
"Cleaning Elisandra's clothing." Legolas replied cheerfully, motioning to where he'd put the pile of Elisandra's now-clean clothes on the ground for proof, glad that they'd remembered the clothes. They almost hadn't, until Elisandra had spotted them through the trees. She was proving to have better eyesight than Legolas - or at least, she noticed things he didn't because everything was so new to her.  
  
"For half the night?" Gimli asked, arching an eyebrow as Elisandra finished eating and wandered over to the horses. Out of Elisandra's line of sight, Legolas shot his friend a look that warned him not to say anymore. Legolas and Elisandra had not talked about what had happened last night - Elisandra seemed to have completely forgotten, what with her eyesight suddenly returned - and Legolas didn't want the subject brought up in any company other than just him and Elisandra until they'd had a chance to talk. He knew they'd have to - it had been entirely too sudden, and he knew it. Not to mention that if Gimli found out, therefore, so would Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir. And though Legolas could only die once, he had no doubt that the three of them would march to the Halls of Mandos himself to get Legolas back so that they could each have a crack at him.  
  
Fortunately, Gimli took the hint, and said no more as they finished packing and mounted up for the day. Legolas, noting that Elisandra was far to absorbed in her surroundings to pay attention to where she was going, and not really wanting to explain to Gimli why Elisandra could now steer her own horse, took Elisandra's reins like he had in past days. She didn't even notice.  
  
So they continued that day and the next; Elisandra looking around constantly, absorbed everything with wide eyes; Legolas steering them through the wilderness, lost in his thoughts, and Gimli perched behind Legolas on Arod trying to figure out what in all of Arda was going on with his two traveling companions. He had several guesses, and had noticed Elisandra's now pointed ears, but remembering Legolas' warning look, didn't want to say anything until he could get Legolas alone.  
  
It seemed they were at an impasse, with hardly any conversation passing among the three of them, until two nights after Elisandra had recovered her sight. Gimli, sensing that some private talks needed to occur between Legolas and the other members of their group, offered to take first watch. It wasn't really his turn - it was Legolas' - but he used the excuse that Legolas looked tired. Legolas didn't really look tired, nor was he, even though he had taken Elisandra's watch the night before. But when Legolas tried to protest, Gimli sent him a looked that let him know he was doing it so that Legolas could talk - to either him or Elisandra - in privacy. Legolas sent his friend a grateful smile, and then waited until Gimli was out of sight and hearing before attempting to start the needed conversation with Elisandra.  
  
"Elisandra, we need to talk." he said, crouching down in front of the girl, who was currently inspecting the top of a tall piece of grass that was growing beside her. She looked up when he spoke, but then turned her attention back to the grass.  
  
"About what?" she asked, still inspecting the grass.  
  
"What happened. Between us." Legolas replied with a sigh. This would not be easy normally, and she was only making it harder by seeming to be more interested in the grass than the conversation.  
  
"What about it?" Elisandra asked as she continued inspecting the grass, and her voice shook slightly. Legolas realized with a small smile that she was using the grass as a way to hide her nervousness. Then, turning serious, he determinedly decided that if he had to face the subject head on, so did she. Reaching out, he caught her chin and turned her face towards his, locking eyes with her to stop her from looking back to the grass. For a moment, they did nothing but look, then Elisandra closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, her eyes sparkled.  
  
"What about it shall we talk about, then? How you were neglect in your duties of watchman?" she asked, smiling impishly, and Legolas gave her a withering look, suddenly reminded that he was close to three millennia older than her. After a moments pause, Elisandra seemed to recognize that this was no time for humour, and sobered, leaning forward and looking at Legolas intently. "So many things have happened in the past few weeks, Legolas, that I am more lost then I was when I first lost my sight. All I can really tell you right now is that we are going to Rivendell to look for my father, I can see again, I have somehow gained Elvish ears and abilities, and I have feelings for you that I have never felt before for anyone else." Legolas blinked in surprise, not having expected such bluntness, then smiled softly and nodded.  
  
"Very well then, I shall not ask for more." he said, then moved his hand from where it still held her chin to cup the side of her face before continuing softly, "I shall, however, tell you more. I love you, Elisandra. I do not know how I could have come to love you so quickly, nor do I really want to know. I am simple accepting it, and hoping that you shall accept it, as well." Elisandra drew back slightly, with a stunned expression on her face, and then her eyes closed again for a few moments. When she opened them, she was smiling softly, and she reached over and hugged Legolas tightly. The hug continued for quite some time, as neither one of them wanted to break it. In the end, they silently and mutually decided that instead of going through the annoying effort of separating and going to their own bedrolls to sleep, it would be much easier to just lie down, still holding each other, and sleep.  
  
So it was that Gimli found them several hours later when he came to wake Elisandra for her turn at watch, holding onto each other, both with their eyes creepily open in Elvish sleep, and far from any bedroll.  
  
"Figures." he grunted, eyeing the two. Then he tromped over to Elisandra's bedroll, grabbed the blanket from it and dumped it on top of his two companions before heading back out and sitting on watch for the rest of the night.  
  
\/---Review or I'll sic Legolas on you! Or, hm, if you prefer, review *and* I'll sic Legolas you. :)---\/ 


	19. The One and Only Sparklie Rivendell

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note:  
  
*looks at the reviews for the last chapter with wide eyes* Well, I guess my 'threat' worked... *sics Legolas on basically all the reviewers but Duke Storm* *watches as it really becomes more of the reviewers siccing Legolas* Ahem...yes.  
  
So, in other news, I hate the following chapter. I dunno why. But I wrote it and I suddenly realized that I hated it. It gets where I want it to get, it includes what I want it to include, but I hate it. Really strange, actually. I can't remember hating any chapter of a story before, but, I hate this one. Stupid chapter. *whaps chapter* As a side note, the sudden jump is simply because I don't feel like having the journey scraggling along anymore...  
  
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-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XIX-  
  
-The One and Only Sparklie Rivendell-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Nothing was said the next morning as to the arrangements of the night before as the three companions ate a scarce breakfast and then packed up camp and continued on their journey to Rivendell. In the late afternoon, however, Gimli became impatient for an explanation as to why Elisandra was now able to direct her own horse. So Legolas pulled slightly ahead of Elisandra and explained to his friend - simply and with as little words and revelation of personal matters as possible - what had occurred. When Legolas was done, no more was heard from the Dwarf for the rest of the day. Indeed, in the days after, the Dwarf was unusually silent - in fact, they all were - though he treated Elisandra no different then before. Though he did now insist that she take part in setting up and taking down camp.  
  
And so the three companions settled into an easy routine of traveling, moving quickly and unnoticed by all but animals in the wilderness, and setting up camp for only as long as was needed. Legolas himself was surprised by how quickly they moved, and attributed it to the fact that they spent so little time at camps. They were often in their night time camps to short a time to have more than two watches, in fact.  
  
As to Legolas and Elisandra's relationship, no move was made by either to further or discuss it in any manner. They usually slept side by side when Gimli was on watch, but that was the extent of their romantic interactions. After their initial night of passion, they seemed to have fallen into an easy relationship akin to that of incredibly close friends. If it bothered either of them, neither mentioned it.  
  
Elisandra and Gimli's relationship remained as they had before, surprisingly. They argued over everything but food and annoying Legolas - which they seemed to take extreme pleasure in now. More than once the Elf Prince contemplated putting Gimli on the back of Elisandra's horse and spurring it into a gallop before turning his own horse and galloping in the opposite direction. Then he contemplated Aragorn's reaction when he heard, and he quickly decided that contemplating would only get him in trouble, and so, stopped contemplating.  
  
And so, eventually, they came to the borders of Rivendell - three close companions, two constantly driving the other insane when not bickering between themselves. It was the snickering of the border guards that actually alerted Legolas to having crossed the borders of Rivendell, as Elisandra and Gimli were taking turns asking every five seconds if he knew where he was going and if they were lost and what was for supper and so on and so on. Legolas, with a sigh, rolled his eyes and chose to ignore the guards, instead riding right past them. As it was a time of peace, and Legolas was an Elven Prince - and probably expected, anyways - the guards let them pass without a challenge.  
  
Legolas, Elisandra and Gimli camped one more night, not far inside the borders of Rivendell, and as they packed up the next morning, Legolas announced that they would reach Rivendell by noon. That excited Gimli and Elisandra very much, and the subject of the beauties of Rivendell was added to the short list of subjects that could be discussed between Elisandra and Gimli without resulting in an argument. So they talked about Rivendell until they came within sight of it, and Legolas was forced to once again take Elisandra's reins as she looked around with open-mouthed shock. Gimli and Legolas, themselves, hadn't been to Rivendell since the War of the Ring, and now they looked down on it thoughtfully, memories of their last times there floating through their minds.  
  
The three travelers pulled their minds back to the present, however, when they reached the main courtyard of what was still called the House of Elrond, despite the fact that he was now in Valinor. Elladan and Elrohir claimed they couldn't be bothered to decide whether it should become the House of Elladan or the House of Elrohir or the House of Elladan and Elrohir or the House of Elrohir and Elladan. Everyone just accepted that excuse and refrained from commenting that there had been nothing that the twins couldn't be bothered to do before.  
  
Waiting for the three travelers in the courtyard, apparently expecting them, was Elrohir himself. Elisandra looked at the twin for a few moments, then, unable to tell which one he was, closed her eyes for a moment so she could see his fëa. Once she figured out it was Elrohir, she opened her eyes again and hopped off her horse - something she'd become more adept at now that she could see - and promptly enveloped her uncle in a huge hug, while Legolas and Gimli watched with amusement.  
  
"It is good to see you, as well, Elisandra." Elrohir said dryly after Elisandra had released him.  
  
"You haven't been to the palace in YEARS. How do you expect me to greet you?" Elisandra said admonishingly.  
  
"With a huge hug, of course!" Elrohir replied, suddenly grinning. At that point, Legolas and Gimli, having handed the two horses off to the grooms, came over.  
  
"Welcome back to Rivendell, Prince Legolas, Master Gimli." Elrohir said gravely as he turned to them, bowing slightly. Legolas and Gimli returned the bow just as gravely, and then they all smiled.  
  
"Come, there are others waiting to greet you before you can rest from your journey." Elrohir said. He offered his arm to Elisandra, which she took, and led them into the house.  
  
"I must confess, we were worried about you arriving here safely." Elrohir commented as they walked. "We have heard rumors of Orc trouble around Isengard, and only a few days ago, a guard who claimed to have come from your escort came galloping in on a half-dead horse. He claimed you'd been attacked and had to scatter in order to escape."  
  
"He was right. Though we three managed to stick together." Legolas replied.  
  
"Only because I wouldn't have gotten very far on my own and you'd need a sharper sword than there's the craft to make to separate you and Gimli." Elisandra commented, causing Elrohir to chuckle.  
  
"Indeed." Elrohir said with a grin. "And let us not forget how many giants you'd have to coerce into helping to pull Legolas away from his Rohirric stead!" Legolas just shook his head and smiled wryly, already fearing for his sanity if Elladan and Elrohir teamed up with Elisandra and Gimli to drive him insane.  
  
There was only a short moment of silence before they arrived at a small receiving room, which Elrohir lead them into. Waiting for them was not only Elladan - who was already enveloped in a bear hug by Elisandra - but Lord Celeborn, as well. Legolas and Gimli both bowed to the lord, and Elisandra, after registering his presence and discovering who he was, curtseyed politely. Lord Celeborn, to all of their surprise, returned Elisandra's curtsey with a bow of the same depth, signifying that he saw no difference in rank between them. Elisandra looked uncertainly to Legolas, but he was just as lost as her.  
  
"I have heard much about you, Elisandra. It is nice to finally meet you." Celeborn said, smiling lightly to put Elisandra at ease. She was still incredibly confused, however, and resorted to flicking her eyes closed for a few seconds to read his fëa. All she saw was welcome tinged with curiosity, and she relaxed as she opened her eyes, smiling.  
  
"I can assure you I have heard much more about you." she said. "And it is equally nice to finally meet you."  
  
"And what tales have you been telling the poor girl?" Celeborn said suspiciously, looking to his two grandsons. They looked back innocently.  
  
"Nothing that anyone else has heard." Elladan said, in such an innocent tone of voice that Celeborn had to pause and think about it before realizing what Elladan had said. When he did, he looked at the twin admonishingly before returning his gaze to Elisandra, who was struggling not to laugh.  
  
"I would suggest you believe only half of whatever they've told you about me." Celeborn said dryly.  
  
"I shall believe the good half, then." Elisandra replied with a grin, and Celeborn nodded, smiling in reply to Elisandra's grin.  
  
"Now perhaps our guests would like to freshen up before we have lunch?" Elladan suggested.  
  
"If I can have a bath, I'm all for it!" Elisandra said emphatically, and Elladan chuckled.  
  
"Of course you can!" he said, and then offered his arm to lead Elisandra out of the room. She took it, and Elladan motioned for Legolas and Gimli to follow as he set off out of the room and down the hall. As they left, none noticed the sharp gaze with which Elrohir watched his foster-niece.  
  
---  
  
Elisandra sighed happily as she slid into the hot bathwater. She hadn't had a bath of any sort since the one that had ended so interestingly with Legolas, and she hadn't had a hot bath since she left Minas Tirith. The water felt extremely good. As she relaxed, the handmaiden that had been waiting to help her started cleaning her hair. Though Elisandra could now clean her own hair perfectly fine, she let the handmaiden go about her business while she fell to thinking.  
  
Things had gone well among the small group of her, Gimli and Legolas as they traveled to Rivendell. After the first few private discussions - Elisandra was sure Gimli and Legolas had had a private discussion about how she had regained her sight - they had accepted that Elisandra had no idea how she had regained her sight, and no more was said on it. It was endearing as well that while Legolas said no more of their relationship or what state it might be in, he still could not seem to sleep apart from her at night. Elisandra really didn't mind, since she realized after the first few nights that if he didn't purposely set his bedroll down next to hers, she'd set her down next to his.  
  
But she was still confused about this relationship with Legolas thing. It also didn't help that as their journey had progressed, a suspicion that her night with Legolas had caused her sight to return had grown - it really was the only explanation if you thought about it, anyways, and she was surprised Legolas hadn't thought of it and approached her about it. All in all, she was wishing that there was someone around that she could talk to about the whole matter.  
  
That, oddly enough, brought her thoughts to Rivendell. It was wonderful to see her uncles again. Elisandra frowned slightly as she realized that even though she had long since stopped calling Aragorn and Arwen 'father' and 'mother', she could not stop thinking of Elladan and Elrohir as her uncles. She supposed it was a whole lot safer that way, anyways. She remembered Arwen once telling her that the twin's criteria for who they could play jokes on or tease was anyone not related to them. And if tales were to be believed, they hadn't stopped playing jokes or teasing non-family members even now that they were joint Lords of Rivendell.  
  
As wonderful as it had been to see her uncles again, however, Elisandra had been quite startled to find Lord Celeborn there to greet her. She had been even more startled when he had bowed to her, suddenly at a loss without the ability to see his fëa and know what he was thinking. Having discovered a few days after she regained her normal sight that she could see fëa's when her eyes were closed, Elisandra logically decided to let her eyes close for a few moments to get a general idea of what Lord Celeborn was feeling. It had been strange to see his fëa - she remembered very little of Lord Elrond from his one visit to the palace before he'd sailed into the West, but Arwen had told her once that she had complained that his fëa was bright. Well, Lord Celeborn's fëa was definitely bright - and oddly silver in colour. It had also been strangely guarded. She could see his surface thoughts and feelings, but she could feel that there was much more that she couldn't see, and it disturbed her almost as much as Legolas' seeming ability to occasionally hide his fëa from her.  
  
Elisandra frowned lightly again at that, even as she let the handmaiden help her out of the bath and dry her off before starting to dress her. Elisandra still hadn't gotten around to asking Legolas about how he'd managed to block her from seeing his fëa, and wasn't quite sure about how to broach the subject. She was used to Aragorn and Arwen guarding their feelings around her so she didn't feel to out of place, but Legolas had managed to completely block out all his feelings. And with Lord Celeborn - it had been like Arwen and Aragorn, only not. They were very clearly NOT thinking of or feeling anything that would make her uncomfortable - a remarkable feat in and of itself - while Lord Celeborn was clearly thinking and feeling things that he did not want her to see, and somehow managed to stop her from seeing them. Elisandra wondered if perhaps it was not due to the years he had spent with Galadriel. After all, she was rumored to have been able to read minds and feelings, and Elisandra's ability to see fëa's resulted in basically the same thing.  
  
As the handmaiden finished dressing Elisandra and generally readying her for public eye, she shook her head to clear it of the thoughts. Just as the handmaiden finished, as if timed, there was a knock on the door, and a moment later the door opened to reveal Elrohir.  
  
"Are you finally ready for lunch?" he asked, trying to look annoyed, but the teasing in his voice ruined it.  
  
"Yes, Uncle, I am." Elisandra said, smiling as she stood.  
  
"Then perhaps you would allow me to escort you there?" Elrohir said, offering Elisandra his arm.  
  
"I can think of no better escort!" Elisandra said, still smiling. She quickly went to where he waited, took his arm, and after Elrohir waved cheerfully to the handmaiden, they were off to lunch.  
  
\/---Reviews are appreciated, yes they are!---\/ 


	20. 10 Points If You Run Into Celeborn!

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: I want to apologize for the recent short chapters. It's just that I'm getting rather near the exciting part of the story, which has scenes I KNOW will be long and I want them in their own chapters and stuff. Like, say, the revelation of who Elisandra's father is...which was SUPPOSED to be in this chapter. Somehow, things just happened, however, and it's been pushed ahead a chapter...or maybe two...I dunno! We'll find out when we get to it! *runs off cheerfully before her reviewers tie her down and make them tell her who Elisandra's father is*  
  
Also, just thought I'd mention, if you check the appendixes in 'Return of the King', Lord Celeborn stayed behind in Middle-Earth after Galadriel left for Valinor, and eventually went to Rivendell because he was lonely. Or something along those lines. Anyways. Finding that little note saved my arse, because I needed some wise important person in Rivendell, and Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel were all gone to Valinor. So Celeborn it is! Though Elrohir made an unexpected character development on me and sorta took over part of what I was planning on having Celeborn do.  
  
...  
  
I really don't know why I just explained that...Ah well, consider it your random bit of trivia learned for the day, if you didn't know the part about Celeborn already.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XX-  
  
-10 Points If You Run Into Celeborn!-  
  
------------------------------  
  
There was silence as Elisandra and Elrohir walked to lunch, but even without flicking her eyes closed for a moment to see Elrohir's fëa, Elisandra knew there was something on his mind. He was silent, for one thing - Elisandra couldn't remember Elrohir ever being silent for more than five minutes, unless somebody else was talking. And Elisandra was being just as quiet as Elrohir.  
  
"Uncle, what is on your mind?" Elisandra asked finally.  
  
"To be brutally honest," Elrohir said after a pause, "Your ears." Elisandra looked at him blankly for a moment, then suddenly remembered that her ears were now pointed.  
  
"Ooooh!" she said, then smiled, "They mysteriously changed on the way here. I haven't managed to discover why, yet."  
  
"And have you managed to discover why you can see now?" Elrohir asked, arching an eyebrow. Elisandra stumbled slightly and looked at her uncle in shock.  
  
"How...?" she asked, slightly stunned, and Elrohir grinned.  
  
"Really now, you don't think you could flawlessly navigate several rooms full of furniture that you've never been in before and me not notice?" he replied.  
  
"I suppose Elladan's noticed, as well?" Elisandra asked, slowly recovering from her shock.  
  
"I think he was too busy being hugged the first time to notice, and the second time was just now in your room. So unless he was hiding somewhere nearby, he didn't see the second time." Elrohir replied. There was a pause, then he spoke again. "So? HAVE you managed to figure out why you can see now?"  
  
"Uh, no." Elisandra said, then coughed lightly when Elrohir gave her an I-don't-believe-you look. "Alright, I have an idea, but I'm not saying." Elrohir took one look at the blush creeping up Elisandra's neck and grinned mischievously. Fortunately for Elisandra, at that moment, they reached the hall where they were to be having lunch and Elrohir had to hold back whatever he was going to say.  
  
The hall was large, and filled with many of the Elves from Rivendell. Most of the hall had tables with benches beside them, but at the far end, a taller table stood, with chairs behind it. All but three of the chairs were filled, mostly with advisors and other important Elves of Rivendell. Near the center of the table of important Elves, from left to right, sat Gimli and Legolas, followed by two of the empty chairs, and then Elladan, Lord Celeborn and the remaining empty seat.  
  
"We are almost the last to arrive." Elrohir commented as they walked to their seats in-between Legolas and Elladan.  
  
"Only at the head table and only because you were walking slow." Elisandra mock scolded in reply. Elrohir shook his head and grinned, then pulled out Elisandra's chair for her before sitting down himself.  
  
"Have a nice bath?" Legolas asked Elisandra as she sat down.  
  
"It was wonderful." Elisandra replied with a dreamy look on her face.  
  
"Apparently, if it made you one of the last ones to lunch." Legolas teased.  
  
"Speaking of lunch, when are we going to get to eat?" Elisandra asked, looking around.  
  
"Ask your uncles. This confounded Elf refuses to tell me." Gimli grunted from the other side of Legolas.  
  
"I refuse to tell you because I do not KNOW when we are going to get to eat!" Legolas said, sounding distinctly annoyed. Elisandra's lips twitched in a smile, and she turned to Elrohir.  
  
"So when are we going to get to eat?" she asked.  
  
"Soon, there is yet one more to arrive. Ah, here he is." Elrohir said, nodding towards the entrance. Elisandra glanced up to see another Lothlorien Elf entering the hall, and, realizing that he was heading for the head table and there was only one place left, she turned her attention back to Elrohir.  
  
"Who's he?" she asked.  
  
"Haldir, once the Marchwarden of Lothlorien. He is now one of Lord Celeborn's advisors, and a good friend to Elladan and I, besides." Elrohir replied. Elisandra nodded, having heard tales of Haldir when Aragorn and Legolas had gotten going about the War of the Ring. She gave him a cursory look-over, decided he was OK, and turned her attention back to the hall. There were so many Elves, all new to her, that Elisandra found watching them fascinating.  
  
Elisandra watched the general interactions of the various Elves through most of the meal, in-between conversations with Elrohir or Legolas, and near the end, out of curiosity, she let her eyelids slide closed so she could look at their fëa's. When she took a look around, she froze in shock. She knew very well that all the Elves in Rivendell could not be only part Elven, and yet every single one of them had what she knew as a normal fëa. She looked back to Legolas, and saw that, yes, he was his normal, whole self. She looked back out at the Elves of Rivendell. Then back to Legolas. Yep, Legolas was the only one she could see entirely.  
  
"Elisandra?" Elrohir's concerned voice startled Elisandra, and she whipped her head towards him without opening her eyes. To her surprise, she found that beyond Lord Celeborn she could see another solid figure - one ex-Marchwarden of Lothlorien, to be exact. Sucking in a breath, Elisandra opened her eyes with a snap, focusing on Haldir more closely with her normal eyesight.  
  
"Elisandra, what is wrong?" Elrohir asked again. Elisandra tore her attention away from Haldir and frowned at her uncle for a moment.  
  
"Nothing." she said, shaking her head to clear her spinning thoughts. "Well, something, but I shall tell you about it later."  
  
"I am done lunch, as are you, so how about we go for a walk and you tell me now?" Elrohir suggested, motioning to their two empty plates as proof.  
  
"Sure." Elisandra said, and she and Elrohir rose from their seats. They made polite excuses to the others at the table, then went off, with Elrohir 'leading' Elisandra. Soon, they were away from the House of Elrond and into one of the gardens, silence reigning around them except for the sounds of nature.  
  
"So what is wrong?" Elrohir asked after a time, seeing that Elisandra was too lost in her own thoughts to start explaining without prompting. Elisandra pulled herself out of her thoughts at Elrohir's question and sighed.  
  
"I really don't know where to begin." she said. "But I shall try." Elisandra paused before continuing. "You already know that I can now see. But one thing I did not mention was that I can still see fëa's if I close my eyes."  
  
"Must be hard trying to sleep." Elrohir commented.  
  
"No, I sleep in Elvish fashion now." Elisandra said dismissively.  
  
"Really? Another thing that mysteriously happened on your journey here?" he asked with curiosity, and Elisandra nodded.  
  
"Back to the explanation," Elisandra said. "One of the things that first drew me to be friends with Legolas was that even before I regained my normal sight, I could see him even as I see him now, only with his fëa glittering around him like an outline. I had always assumed that this was because he was an Elf." Elisandra frowned slightly as she continued, "However, back in the hall, I closed my eyes to look at the fëa's of some of the Elves in the room. I found, to my surprise, that even though they were all entirely Elf, like Legolas, I could see no more of them than their fëa's, like with all other creatures. And when you called my name, I was so startled I turned to look at you without opening my eyes. I discovered that I could also see all of the Lothlorien Marchwarden - Haldir, was his name?" Elrohir nodded, and Elisandra continued. "It's just made me more confused."  
  
"More confused?" Elrohir asked with a small smile.  
  
"Yes. Ever since Legolas came to Minas Tirith, it has just been one confusing thing after another." Elisandra replied with a scowl. "It's getting so I don't know which way is up anymore."  
  
"Well, perhaps we should try and sort out some of the things that are confusing you." Elrohir said practically. "We shall start with the fëa's of Elves. I, myself, have no knowledge about such a thing, but grandfather is not called Celeborn the Wise for nothing!" Elrohir finished on a cheerful note, and Elisandra couldn't help but smile.  
  
"It really is very nice to see you again, Uncle." she said, and Elrohir grinned back at her impishly, then got a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"So, if you can see now, does that mean you can run?" he asked. Elisandra nodded warily. "Then I'll race you back to the house!" Elisandra blinked and stared after her uncle as he took off down the path, then, with a laugh, took off after him.  
  
---  
  
"And you say that this all happened on your journey here and you do not know why?" Lord Celeborn asked with interest. After lunch, while Elrohir and Elisandra were having their walk, Celeborn, Elladan and Legolas had gone for a walk of their own. Elrohir, it seemed, had not been the only one to notice Elisandra's newly pointed ears - both Elladan and Celeborn had also noticed them. And, since Elrohir had snatched Elisandra away right after lunch, they'd decided to corner Legolas about it. Legolas' explanation of Elisandra's ears had, naturally, lead to the revelation of her being able to see again, which sparked Lord Celeborn's comment.  
  
"Yes, it was quite strange." Legolas replied. "She just woke up one morning and could suddenly see."  
  
"For no particular reason that you could tell?" Elladan asked with curiosity.  
  
"Yes." Legolas said.  
  
"I wonder - could it have had something to do with the land?" Celeborn asked with a frown.  
  
"The land?" Legolas asked in confusion.  
  
"It might be possible that there was something in Gondor that was making her lose her sight. Though highly unlikely. If that was the case, her vision should have slowly returned to normal, and not just returned overnight, when she wasn't moving." Celeborn replied.  
  
Legolas opened his mouth to comment on that, but closed it again in surprise as something came hurtling around the corner and dashed in-between him and Elladan. Moments later, another hurtling shape followed, this time dashing in-between Elladan and Celeborn. The two Elven Lords and one Elven Prince stopped in surprise, turning to stare after the hurtling shapes. The first of the hurtling shapes, as it turned out, stopped about ten feet past them. The other shape, unable to stop in time, ran into the first shape, causing both to fall to the ground in a tangled heap. When the shapes sorted themselves out and stood up, the three watching Elves raised their eyebrows as they recognized Elrohir and Elisandra.  
  
"Ah, Grandfather! We were just looking for you!" Elrohir said cheerfully as he and Elisandra backtracked so they were now standing in front of the three surprised elves.  
  
"Really? It looked more as if you were endangering the wildlife to me." Celeborn said.  
  
"Endangering the wildlife, looking for you, what's the difference?" Elrohir asked with a grin.  
  
"Lots." Elisandra commented.  
  
"Hey, you were the one that needed to find him." Elrohir replied.  
  
"It wasn't my idea to race, though." Elisandra said.  
  
"AHEM." Elladan said, drawing his brother and niece's attention back to the three elves. "What did you want to find grandfather for?"  
  
"Elisandra has a question about fëa's." Elrohir said, motioning to Elisandra.  
  
"Then perhaps we should find some place to sit down." Celeborn said. "Questions about fëa's are usually as long and complicated as the answers." Elisandra nodded, and Celeborn offered her his arm before they headed off back towards the house, leaving Elladan and Legolas to pester Elrohir about what Elisandra wanted to ask.  
  
"So what is this question you wanted to ask?" Celeborn said as he and Elisandra walked out of hearing range of the three Elves.  
  
"Weren't we going to find some place to sit down first?" Elisandra asked.  
  
"Well, we can do that, yes. That was, however, more of an excuse to have a private conversation." Celeborn replied. "Discussions about fëa's are usually better done in private."  
  
"Hmm, yes, they are." Elisandra said. "But you were right about the question being long and complicated."  
  
"Then take all the time you need to sort it out in your head." Celeborn said kindly, and Elisandra smiled gratefully at him. They walked in silence for awhile, and then finally, as they entered the House of Elrond proper, Elisandra spoke up again.  
  
"I guess this is more of a question about my sight than about fëa's, but Uncle Elrohir seemed to think you'd be able to figure it out, so I'll just trust his judgment." she said. "First, you need to know that I can see normally now -"  
  
"Yes, Legolas told us." Celeborn commented, and Elisandra looked at him in surprise.  
  
"He did?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, Elladan and I forced it out of him after asking him about your ears." Celeborn replied with a small smile, and Elisandra chuckled.  
  
"I should have known Uncle Elrohir wouldn't be the only one to notice them." she said. "Anyways. What I'm sure Legolas DIDN'T tell you - mostly because he doesn't know - is that I can still see fëa's if I close my eyes."  
  
"Really?" Celeborn asked with interest, and Elisandra nodded.  
  
"It's really quite nice to still be able to see fëa's, as I think I would be completely lost, socially, if I couldn't still see fëa's in some manner." she said, and Celeborn nodded. "Now, here's the interesting part leading up to the question. I have not seen many full Elves in my life - at least until I came here. In fact, Legolas was the first full elf that I can remember ever seeing clearly."  
  
"So you do not remember Lord Elrond's visit?" Celeborn asked with interest. Elisandra blinked.  
  
"No, I remember it." she said. "But he's not fully Elf."  
  
"He may have been born Half-Elven, but as soon as he made his choice to remain of the Eldar kind, he became fully Elven." Celeborn replied, and Elisandra sighed.  
  
"Figures." she said. "I didn't know that until now. Well, I THOUGHT Legolas was the first full elf I have ever seen, then. Anyway," and Elisandra went on to explain for the second time that day about how she could see Legolas, and now Haldir.  
  
"And you want to know why you can see Legolas and Haldir like that?" Celeborn guessed with a small smile as Elisandra finished. Elisandra nodded.  
  
"It's confusing me a great deal." she said.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure I can sort it out much for you." Celeborn said, frowning lightly. "Matters of the fëa are generally very confusing, and nothing like your sight has ever been recorded. But I can tell you this. Whatever is happening, it is the will of the Valar. Elrond, Galadriel and I had a long discussion about you before they left for Valinor, and Elrond said that he tried to heal your eyes when he visited you."  
  
"He did?" Elisandra asked in surprise, and Celeborn nodded.  
  
"He did. However, he discovered that your eyes were perfectly fine. There was just something there that was shifting your sight so you saw fëa's. He said he was too surprised at the time to closely examine whatever it was - and he doubted he would have gotten far, anyways, as it was much more powerful than him - but he said that it felt good. In fact, the more he thought over it, he became sure that it was the doing of the Valar." Celeborn continued. Elisandra looked at Celeborn in amazement, walking by instinct, too stunned to do anything other than run Celeborn's words over in her mind.  
  
"So my sight is due to the Valar?" she asked finally, her voice almost a squeak.  
  
"As far as we know." Celeborn replied with a smile.  
  
"So the return of my sight and my sudden Elvish gifts surfacing are due to the Valar?" Elisandra asked, dazed.  
  
"Perhaps." Celeborn said, his smile turning secretive. "Still, you have been touched by the Valar, and given a gift by them. That makes you very special indeed."  
  
"That's why you bowed to me!" Elisandra exclaimed suddenly, and Celeborn nodded.  
  
"That, and you are the foster-daughter of not only the King and Queen of Gondor, but my granddaughter as well." Celeborn said.  
  
"Well that makes sense." Elisandra mumbled, causing Celeborn to chuckle.  
  
"You will find a lot of things make sense if they are explained." Celeborn said, stopping walking outside a door. Elisandra found, to her surprise, that it was the door to her room.  
  
"Well, I shall have to start asking for explanations, then." Elisandra said with a smile, and Celeborn nodded in approval.  
  
"You do that. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, my door is open to you." Celeborn said with a smile. Elisandra thanked him, and they said goodbye before Elisandra returned to her room and Celeborn continued off down the hall.  
  
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	21. Fun With Sharp Pointy Things

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Whoo, I'm on a roll! Finished Chapter 20 today, and am already writing another chapter! Go me! Look what I can get done when I can't connect to FanFiction.net and want to avoid doing anything useful!  
  
And I stand corrected in Elisandra's relation to Celeborn...oops. I normally catch stuff like that, but the Elves are so damn confusing, what with being immortal and all. I mean, you could know your great-great-great-great-grandparents if you were an Elf! Hey...multiple grandparents...hee. That would be fun on birthdays. To bad Elves don't celebrate birthdays all that much since they have so many of them...  
  
Anyways, I intended to reveal who Elisandra's father is in this chapter, but stuff happened. Next chapter! I promise! I've even written the scene already! Now I just need to make up something to fill up the rest of the chapter. (it's currently about the size of Chapter 1)  
  
In other news, I'm thinking of writing a 'Survivor: Middle-Earth' fanfic. Or maybe, since I've seen more episodes of it (ie, one) more often, 'Big Brother: Middle-Earth'. Just wondering what people would think about it, and who they think should be on it... (besides the entire Fellowship and Ringwraith #4...yes, a Ringwraith is an essential castmember!)  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXI-  
  
-Fun With Sharp Pointy Things-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Haldir frowned as he walked through the hallways of Rivendell, absorbed in his thoughts. Because of this, Haldir barely noticed as Lord Celeborn came up beside him, keeping pace with him while watching him out of the corner of his eye. He was aware that Lord Celeborn was there, of course - he'd been Marchwarden of Lothlorien for too long not to notice when someone started walking beside him - but he knew whoever it was wasn't a threat and ignored them, preferring to keep to his own thoughts until his companion spoke.  
  
"She looks a lot like her mother, doesn't she?" Lord Celeborn asked when he spoke. Haldir started slightly, looking over at Celeborn in surprise.  
  
"Who?" he asked, though he knew very well.  
  
"Elisandra. You do remember the copy of the portrait that came with the messenger from Minas Tirith, do you not?" Celeborn replied.  
  
"I do." Haldir said quietly, turning his gaze to the floor.  
  
"Then won't you agree that she looks a lot like her mother?" Celeborn asked. Mutely, Haldir nodded, and Celeborn eyed him for a moment before adding, "Though she does have a good deal of her father in her, from what I have seen and heard." Haldir's gaze shot up and he stared at Celeborn.  
  
"Nobody even knows who her father IS." Haldir choked out after a moment.  
  
"I do." Celeborn said with a small smile. "And if her father doesn't come forward, I am going to tell her myself." And with that, Celeborn picked up his pace and walked off, even as Haldir stopped in shock.  
  
---  
  
"So you do not think you can win?" Elladan asked Legolas innocently as they and Elrohir walked out of the garden where they had spent the past half hour bugging Elrohir to tell them what Elisandra wanted to asked Lord Celeborn about.  
  
"I know I shall win, Elladan. I just do not feel like beating you and Elrohir at archery at the moment." Legolas replied in annoyance.  
  
"I think you -" whatever Elrohir thought, however, was cut off by the loud exclamation of someone just around the corner. The loud DWARVISH exclamation. Legolas jogged ahead and peeked around the corner to find Elisandra and Gimli glaring at each other.   
  
"What is it this time?" he asked, coming all the way around the corner.  
  
"Dwarves are stupid." Elisandra sulked.  
  
"No, she-elves are just too stupid to recognize our genius." Gimli grumped back. Behind Legolas, Elrohir and Elladan could be heard trying to stifle their laughter.  
  
"Oh sure, dwarves were real geniuses. Which is why their two biggest realms were conquered." Elisandra shot back.  
  
"That is not a sign of stupidity! We simply lacked numbers!" Gimli snapped.  
  
"Don't you mean brains?" Elisandra asked with a smirk, and Gimli growled.  
  
"Elisandra, Gimli, really." Legolas interrupted, trying not to smile. "It is impossible to debate why the Balrog chose to awake or why Smaug took a liking to Erebor."  
  
"Still doesn't change the fact that dwarves are stupid." Elisandra insisted.  
  
"Dwarves are not stupid!" Gimli protested.  
  
"No more than Elves, at least!" Elladan said cheerfully, stepping into the argument. "But come, put your arguing skills to good use and help Elrohir and I convince Legolas to have an archery competition with us!"  
  
"I told you already Elladan. NO." Legolas said with a groan.  
  
"You just do not think you can win." Elrohir said.  
  
"No, I know I can win. I just do not want to go to the trouble of proving." Legolas said with a sigh.  
  
"Are you sure you can win?" Gimli asked. "I don't recall seeing you practice on the entire journey here."  
  
"I do not need to practice every day to retain my skill." Legolas said in annoyance.  
  
"So prove it to us!" Elladan said with a grin.  
  
"NO." Legolas said firmly, glaring at the two elves and dwarf.  
  
"You know, I haven't seen you do archery at all." Elisandra commented. "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen archery done. Perhaps you could have this little competition to show me?" She grinned mischievously at Legolas as she finished, and Legolas just looked at her for a moment.  
  
"FINE." He said, throwing his hands up in the air, and Elrohir and Elladan cackled evilly.  
  
"See, all we needed was some help, brother!" Elladan said cheerfully.  
  
"All you have ever needed is help." Elrohir retorted, causing everyone to laugh as Elladan's mouth dropped open in mock shock.  
  
"I am going to beat you at archery just for that!" Elladan replied finally.  
  
"We shall see about that!" Elrohir said. "Come, to the archery field!" And as a merry troop, they all set off for the archery field.  
  
When they arrived, the field quickly cleared and developed an audience larger than just the practicing archers from before could account for. It seemed that the twin's entreaties to Legolas to have an archery competition with them had not gone unheard, and when they were spotted heading towards the archery field, it was quickly figured out what was going on. Despite the growing audience, however, Elisandra and Gimli got prime spots not far away from the three archers themselves. And, just as the archery competition was about to begin, Haldir arrived at the fields, and the twins promptly pulled him into the competition, as well.  
  
So it was now a four-way competition between the twins, Legolas and Haldir, and the audience was starting to develop a distinct preference to those of the female gender, much to Elisandra's amusement. Or at least, it was to her amusement until she noticed that most of the females in the crowd seemed to be watching Legolas in particular, and cheering louder for him when he hit a bullseye than for the other three Elves. Then, for some strange reason that Elisandra couldn't comprehend at that moment, she suddenly started wishing the crowd would go away, though she kept the amused smile on her face.  
  
Finally, the archery competition ended. Legolas had won, as predicted, and Elladan had come in second, driven by his sense of revenge against his brother, followed by Elrohir and then Haldir in last place. After lots of congratulations from the archers - and far too many she-elves complimenting Legolas on his skill with the bow, in Elisandra's mind - the four Elves that had competed came over to where Elisandra and Gimli were sitting, talking about the competition.  
  
"I honestly thought I would be in third place, behind you, Haldir." Elladan admitted as they came up.  
  
"Well, this was not exactly the best time for me to compete in an archery competition." Haldir said dryly. "I'm a little distracted."  
  
"Oh, and what was distracting you?" Legolas asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"A pretty maiden, perhaps?" Elrohir suggested with a mischievous grin.  
  
"Yes, though not in the way you think." Haldir replied, shaking his head and smiling slightly.  
  
"Drat it, Haldir; you need to find yourself a wife sooner or later!" Elrohir exclaimed. Elisandra, noting where the conversation was going, cleared her throat loudly.  
  
"I'm going to go for a walk and leave you boys to your discussion." she said.  
  
"We'll see you at supper, then!" Elladan said cheerfully, waving as Elisandra left.  
  
As it turned out, however, they didn't see Elisandra for supper, since she decided to stay in her room for supper and start to seriously think about what was going on, and how she should go about finding her father. Her thoughts continued after her supper, but were interrupted when Legolas showed up not long after she had finished eating, looking both relieved and annoyed.  
  
"You did not come to supper." Legolas said as he sat down in a chair that was facing the balcony on which Elisandra was now standing, watching him with amusement.  
  
"No, I wanted to think." Elisandra replied, noting with curiosity that Legolas practically sprawled in the chair, looking exhausted. "You look tired." she commented.  
  
"I spent the entire meal dealing holding polite conversations with one she-elf or another." Legolas replied in annoyance. "A result of the archery competition, I'm sure."  
  
"I noticed the crowd seemed a little full of she-elves." Elisandra commented. She tried to sound casual, but she had stiffened, and it showed slightly in her voice. Legolas caught it and looked at her with a soft smile.  
  
"That was the reason I did not want to have it." he said. "But you seemed to want to watch it."  
  
"I did until I saw the audience." Elisandra replied with a light snort. Legolas chuckled, and then got out of his chair to stand in front of Elisandra on the balcony.  
  
"You are amazing, you know that?" Legolas asked, cupping Elisandra's cheek with his hand. Elisandra looked at him curiously for a moment before replying.  
  
"I would I'm so confused I'm lost, personally." she replied, causing Legolas to chuckle again.  
  
"You ARE amazing, trust me." Legolas said, smiling slightly, then leaned in and kissed Elisandra lightly. When he pulled away, Elisandra smiled up at him before taking a step closer to him and snuggling into his chest. With a smile of his own, Legolas wrapped his arms around Elisandra, kissing the top of her head lightly. They both knew, then, that at least one confusing thing had been sorted out - they both had feelings for each other, and they weren't going to deny those feelings for as long as they lasted.  
  
---  
  
The next few days passed quickly in Rivendell. Most of Elisandra's days were spent talking with either Elladan, Elrohir or Celeborn about one thing or another, while Gimli and Legolas went about Rivendell causing generic havoc, having discovered that Gimli could go all sorts of places Elves couldn't. Occasionally, a she-elf managed to find Legolas and Gimli at whatever they were doing, and after getting rid of the maiden in one form or another, Legolas and Gimli would usually find Elisandra wherever she was and follow her around, watching warily in case more she-elves appeared. Gimli, it turned out, had even less patience for the she-elves that tried to attach themselves to Legolas than Legolas himself did.  
  
In the evenings, Gimli usually went off somewhere - to his room or to the Hall of Fire - while Elisandra and Legolas went about Rivendell by themselves, enjoying some time together. It was actually quite a surprise that neither Elrohir nor Elladan guessed that there was anything more than friendship going on between the two, but the twins seemed completely oblivious to anything that might be considered bad about their foster-niece. They even dismissed the fact that rumors were flying around Rivendell about Elisandra and Legolas, saying the elves had too much time on their hands. And if the twins were so eager to dismiss all thoughts of Elisandra and Legolas being romantically involved, Elisandra and Legolas weren't about to tell them otherwise.  
  
It was during one of Elisandra and Legolas' evening walks that they ran into Haldir for the first time since the archery competition. They'd seen him at meals, to be sure, but he came only just in time for the meals, and left right after, and could never be found to talk to. So it was quite the surprise to suddenly walk around a corner in a garden and find Haldir sitting in a tree, staring moodily out over Rivendell. Legolas, seeing the look on his friends face and enjoying the evening with Elisandra, was perfectly content to walk by and leave Haldir to his thoughts.  
  
But Rivendell had had an effect on Elisandra. Or, more specifically, her Uncles had had an effect on her. Motioning for Legolas to be silent, she carefully crept along the path until she was right under Haldir, then found a stick and poked him. Haldir jumped and almost lost his balance on the branch, doing some fancy acrobatics to keep himself from falling off before glaring down at the offending poker, who was now almost doubled over with laughter.  
  
"Elrohir and Elladan are a bad influence on you." Haldir grumbled good-naturedly when he saw who had poked him.  
  
"Depends on what you call a bad influence." Elisandra said solemnly, calming her laughter.  
  
"The influence that causes you to poke peaceful Elves with sharp sticks." Haldir replied.  
  
"You looked a little morose; I just thought I would cheer you up!" Elisandra replied cheerfully.  
  
"What if I WANTED to be a little morose?" Haldir asked.  
  
"Being morose is never good, so regardless of whether or not you wanted to be a little morose, some cheering up was in order." Elisandra stated in reply.  
  
"If you really want to be left alone, however, Haldir, just poke her back." Legolas said with a small grin.  
  
"I could do that. Except I seem to be lacking sticks of the appropriate length, and I AM starting to get stiff from sitting in this tree too long thinking." Haldir replied, and then jumped lightly down from the tree. "How are you, old friend?"  
  
"Fine, and you?" Legolas asked.  
  
"Mmm, fine as well. Though if you ask anyone else you shall get a different answer." Haldir replied, rolling his eyes slightly.  
  
"Oh? The general populace has decided you are not fine?" Legolas asked, and Haldir gave an exasperated nod.  
  
"They all seem to have decided at the same time that I need to find a wife." Haldir said. "It gets quite unnerving, having Elves that you have only heard the names of walk up to you and ask you when you are going to get married."  
  
"They are just concerned, I'm sure." Elisandra said.  
  
"Well, they should keep their concern to themselves." Haldir said, sounding slightly cross. Legolas chuckled.  
  
"Well, at least you only have strange Elves asking you when you are going to get married, and not strange Elves asking you to marry them." Legolas said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Ah yes, I thank the Valar everyday that I was not cursed with attracting maidens by the flock." Haldir said teasingly.  
  
"It is only a curse when I am not interested in them." Legolas grumbled.  
  
"Not interested?" Haldir said, cocking his head to one side. "My friend, have you finally found someone?" Noticing the glance Legolas and Elisandra shared when he mentioned Legolas finding someone, Haldir smirked and added, "Never mind, I already know the answer to that." At that moment, an Elf appeared around the corner Legolas and Elisandra had so recently turned. Upon seeing Legolas, the Elf's eyes lit up, and he came forward purposefully.  
  
"Prince Legolas." the Elf said, bowing respectively, "M'Lord Celeborn would like to speak with you."  
  
"At this time of night?" Legolas asked in surprise, knowing it was close to midnight, if not after.  
  
"He said he wished to see you as soon as you were available." the Elf said, shrugging slightly.  
  
"Very well." Legolas said with a sigh. "Haldir, I trust you can see the Lady Elisandra safely to her chambers?" he added, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"I can walk to my chambers safely by myself!" Elisandra protested.  
  
"You can, but it is not proper." Haldir replied, and then nodded to Legolas. "I shall see her safely to her chambers." Legolas nodded, and then motioned for the other Elf to lead the way before following him back down the path.  
  
"Would m'Lady like to return to her chambers, or walk some more?" Haldir asked formally once Legolas was out of sight, bowing slightly to Elisandra. She shot him a look, and he grinned.  
  
"Walking sounds fine." Elisandra said. Haldir offered her his arm, and she took it as they set off down the path, going in the opposite direction than Legolas.  
  
\/---Reviews are nice, please leave one! But please, spare the author if you want another chapter! (yes, that's an open invitations to flamers...go ahead, I'm in the mood to laugh)---\/ 


	22. DADDY! aka, the I KNEW IT! chapter

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Well, I wasn't gonna upload this until tomorrow, but oh well.  
  
Y'know, I had the terribly evil urge while writing this chapter to suddenly change who Elisandra's father is, despite the fact that I've had it figured out since I started this story. Well, ok, chapter 3. My other option at the beginning of the story was Glorfindel, but I scrapped him in favour of writing an entirely OTHER FanFic starring him...eventually. But anyways. Elisandra's dad is the same one that I've planned for from the beginning. But oooooh, the temptation to make it Orophin...Anyways, short chapter, because it really just needed to be short. Enjoy the last scene, I enjoyed writing it...Why do I always seem to make wise Elf Lords even more goofy than the rest of the characters? *ponders this while wondering off to jump in an icy cold pond*  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXII-  
  
-DADDY! (aka, the I KNEW IT! chapter)-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Haldir and Elisandra walked for quite awhile in silence. Haldir, it seemed, was lost in his thoughts again, and Elisandra was still enjoying the sights of Rivendell. It wasn't until they had turned back towards the House of Elrond that either broke the silence.  
  
"I knew your mother, you know." Haldir commented suddenly as they walked. Elisandra faltered slightly and looked up at him in surprise.  
  
"Really?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, I met her when she was visiting Lothlorien." Haldir replied. Silence fell again.  
  
"What was she like?" Elisandra asked quietly after a time. Haldir thought for a moment before replying, a soft smile playing across his lips.  
  
"She was adventurous," he said, "And independent. She never let anyone tell her what to do, and the Valar help anyone who told her some trip she had planned was too dangerous. She went where she wanted to, and you could either help her or move out of her way."  
  
"You sound as if you had experience with that." Elisandra said.  
  
"I was the stupid one who tried to stand in her way when she decided to leave to visit Ithilien." Haldir replied dryly. "She did not take kindly to me at first, I'm afraid."  
  
"At first? I take it she warmed up to you eventually?" Elisandra asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"You could say that." Haldir said. "It was hard to tell if she warmed up to me or simply got distracted."  
  
"Distracted? By what?" Elisandra asked.  
  
"Who, not what." Haldir corrected. "And the answer is my brother, Orophin." Now Elisandra stopped walking completely to stare at Haldir, who looked back at her, slightly amused.  
  
"They were not lovers, if that is what you are thinking." he said. "They just made life interesting - for everyone in Lothlorien." Haldir finished on a wry note, and Elisandra arched an eyebrow at him as they started walking again.  
  
"How did they make life interesting?" she asked.  
  
"They took the utmost delight in squashing egos that had, in their opinion, grown too large, and in generally leaving those they ran across utterly confused." Haldir replied. "None were immune to their antics, neither I nor my other brother Rúmil, not even the Lord Celeborn or Lady Galadriel."  
  
"So my mother terrorized the Golden Wood with your brother. Wonderful." Elisandra said as she rolled her eyes, causing Haldir to laugh.  
  
"That is the simple way to put it, I suppose." Haldir said, still chuckling.  
  
"So was there anyone else she made friends with during her stay?" Elisandra asked, smiling slightly at the thought of her mother 'terrorizing' the Golden Wood.  
  
"Made friend with? Plenty." Haldir replied dryly. "Despite her and Orophin's antics, no one could ever seem to stay mad at her - or my brother. All of the Galadhrim loved them."  
  
"Anyone more than friends?" Elisandra asked, glancing at Haldir. At any other time, she would have been content with just the information about her mother that Haldir had already told her, but tonight...Tonight, something was telling her that Haldir knew the answer to her quest to Rivendell, and if she was persistent, she could get it from him.  
  
"I...would not know." Haldir said hesitantly.  
  
"You had to have heard SOMETHING. Your brother was her best friend, how could you not?" Elisandra replied practically.  
  
"Somethings, Eneira told no one." Haldir said cryptically, and Elisandra arched an eyebrow at him.  
  
"And you would know this how?" she asked. Haldir didn't answer, however, instead tilting his face up to the sky and looking at the stars, an unreadable look on his features. After a long silence, Elisandra reached over and poked Haldir. "Well?" she demanded.  
  
"Well what?" Haldir asked, blinking as he looked back at her.  
  
"How would you know that my mother told somethings to no one? After all, if she told them to no one, then no one should even know she's not telling about them, so how can you know?" Elisandra replied. "Did she tell you?"  
  
"No." Haldir replied flatly. "No, she did not have to tell me. I already knew." A sneaking suspicion grew in Elisandra's mind, and she decided to take a wild guess.  
  
"You were my mother's secret lover, weren't you?" Elisandra said, and promptly had the pleasure of being one of very few people to ever see and Elf trip over their own feet. Under different circumstances, she might have found this amusing, but now she simply arched her eyebrow again as Haldir regained his balance and blinked at her with a stunned expression. After a moment, he smiled wryly and shook his head slightly.  
  
"You are your mother's daughter." he said. "No one could hide anything from her, either. Not even their own feelings." The last part was said slightly bitterly, and Elisandra suddenly wondered what could have happened between her mother and Haldir. Since she was wondering, it took her a moment to realize that Haldir had basically told her that her guess was correct. Which meant that there was a very strong possibility that the Elf walking beside her could be her father, and suddenly Elisandra felt something she hadn't in a long time - nervousness. She suddenly wished she could see fëa's again, and closed her eyes, trusting Haldir to guide her, so she could watch him.  
  
She watched Haldir for some time as they walked in silence, but she found that she was just as lost - and more confused - when she could see his fëa. He seemed to have picked up the same ability as Celeborn to hide what he was thinking and feeling, though not as strong, so that she caught only snatches of feelings. Finally, with a sigh, she opened her eyes and looked down the path.  
  
"Why did my mother leave Lothlorien?" Elisandra asked after a short silence, and beside her, she heard Haldir sigh.  
  
"Ultimately? She could not handle loving an immortal." he said, his voice quiet. "She did not want to be the cause of the heartbreak that would inevitably come to the one she loved when she died. So she left, assuming that separation would be easier."  
  
"And it wasn't." It was not a question - the tone of Haldir's voice gave the answer away even before the question could form in your mind.  
  
"No, it was not." Haldir said. "It took the combined efforts of most of the Galadhrim to stop me from fading. In the end, only the reminder that she was still alive and could some day come back to me worked." Silence fell again as Elisandra absorbed this new information, and then Haldir spoke again. "None of us heard from her again - not even Orophin. The messenger that came from Minas Tirith two weeks ago with a copy of her portrait was the only thing any of us had heard of her since she left Lothlorien."  
  
"So in one fell swoop, you found out not only that she was dead, but that she left behind a daughter." Elisandra said softly. "I'm sorry."  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Haldir said, shaking his head. "You cannot be held responsible for the deeds of your mother."  
  
"No, but I DO feel sorry that you had to learn such news from a stranger." Elisandra replied earnestly. Haldir smiled back at her, and they remained silent for the rest of their walk. Not far from Elisandra's room, they ran into Legolas, and Haldir said goodbye before disappearing so quickly Elisandra had to wonder if he ran.  
  
"Have a nice walk with Haldir?" Legolas asked as he took over Haldir's previous job of escorting Elisandra to her rooms.  
  
"Yes, it was very...interesting." Elisandra replied thoughtfully, not quite ready to share what she'd learned until she'd had a chance to absorb it. "What did Celeborn want?" she asked, to distract Legolas when he started to look curious.  
  
"I am actually not quite sure." Legolas said, scratching his head slightly in confusion. "We talked of nothing of importance, and he seemed to have no particular reason to want to talk to me."  
  
"Strange." Elisandra said.  
  
"Indeed." was Legolas' response.  
  
---  
  
Haldir, after leaving Elisandra in the good care of Legolas, found himself running through the corridors to...well, he really didn't know where. He just felt the sudden urge to run. It wasn't until he ended up not far from Lord Celeborn's quarters that he started to think about what had happened, and then he made specifically for Lord Celeborn's quarters. He found, as he expected, that Celeborn was still up, and sitting in the reception room of his quarters as if expecting someone.  
  
"Ah, hello Haldir." Lord Celeborn said warmly when Haldir entered. Haldir simply crossed his arm and stared back at his former Lord. "Did you have a nice chat with Elisandra?" Celeborn continued.  
  
"It was unsettling." Haldir replied flatly, letting none of his emotions show on his face or in his voice.  
  
"I thought it might be." Celeborn said. "Did it bring up some unpleasant memories?"  
  
"Remind me why I turned down Lady Galadriel when she invited me to come with her to Valinor again?" Haldir said, giving Celeborn a withering look.  
  
"I believe you wanted to stay because of Eneira?" Celeborn replied cheerfully. "And now, since you are still in Arda, you will be able to help look after Eneira's - and your - daughter!" Haldir rolled his eyes.  
  
"I am beginning to think that Lady Galadriel was the conservative meddler out of you two." he said, causing Celeborn to chuckle.  
  
"Come now, I do not meddle! I only encourage people to do the right thing." Celeborn said, and Haldir snorted in disbelief.  
  
"Your type of encouragement is called meddling, m'Lord." he said. Celeborn just smiled, and Haldir shook his head. "I am going to bed." Haldir said, and after a cheerful goodbye from Celeborn, Haldir left. As he walked to his room, he shook his head again at what Celeborn had managed to pull off that night to get he and Elisandra alone for a walk. It was admirable, really. But he was still going to tell the twins that he would help them with that intended dyeing of Celeborn's hair to some unnatural colour.  
  
\/---Hmm, I could almost write an entirely different FanFiction about Elisandra's mother and Haldir. O.o Anyways, please leave a review and tell me what ya thought!---\/ 


	23. It's Bluuuuue, oh so Bluuuuue!

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: First off, I'd like to thank all my reviewers. Not because this is the last chapter - not yet. But because I was seriously stumped after the last chapter, and your reviews (and the threats contained therein. ;) ) helped me get going again. So, thanks!  
  
For all those readers that might have missed it, inbetween the last chapter and this one, I wrote a short little ficlet about Haldir and Eneira called 'Consequences'. As far as I'm concerned, for now its finished. I may continue it, but I wouldn't count on it. It was more of a Haldir-was-on-my-mind-and-I-wanted-a-break-from-writing-No-Eyes-Needed fic than anything else.  
  
ALSO! (last author's note, I promise) FanFiction.Net is seriously starting to annoy me by being slow and such, so this story is now being updated to my website, reachable through my profile - or you can just go to http://users.accesscomm.ca/ottosen/diane/  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXIII-  
  
-It's Bluuuuue, oh so Bluuuuue!-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Elisandra spent most of the rest of the night thinking over her conversation with Haldir, and wondering if she should really just ask him if she was his daughter. He hadn't told her outright that she was, after all, and Elisandra couldn't help but wonder if there was more to her mother leaving Lothlorien than Haldir was telling. Just as breakfast came around, she decided to ask him, but was then obliged to wait until after breakfast. That, however, ended out getting delayed when Celeborn walked into the dining hall.  
  
The hall, which had been filled with the soft murmur of elvish small talk, suddenly silenced when the Lord entered, all eyes turning to him. He ignored the attention, however, and walked calmly to his seat. There was a long silence as everybody just looked at Celeborn, who sat there, impassively looking out over the hall. Elisandra's curiosity ended out leading her to break the silence, however.  
  
"Lord Celeborn, why is your hair...blue?" she asked carefully. The hall seemed to hold its breath as Celeborn slowly turned to look at Elisandra.  
  
"Ask your uncles." Celeborn replied.  
  
"Hey now, it wasn't just us!" Elrohir protested. Celeborn turned his attention to his grandson and arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Really now." he said. Elrohir squirmed, nodded vigorously, then pointed to the other side of Celeborn where Haldir sat, looking innocent. Celeborn sighed and glanced upwards with a 'why me?' look, and suddenly the murmur returned to the hall. The food was brought out, and Elisandra watched the four on her left with amusement. Elrohir and Elladan seemed to be busy wishing they were on the other side of the world from Celeborn, shooting quick glances in their grandfather's direction before trying to scoot farther away from him, obviously not liking his quiet and resigned accepting of his blue hair. Celeborn himself was steadfastly ignoring everyone around him in favour of his breakfast. Haldir was the only one of the four that acted anywhere near normal, only glancing slightly worriedly at his Lord a few times throughout the meal, and only catching sight of Celeborn's hair and smirking twice.  
  
After the meal, Celeborn was the first to leave, pausing only long enough to say a few quiet words to Elladan, Elrohir and Haldir that caused them all to suddenly gulp and look at each other in fear. Then, before Elisandra could grab Haldir and let him know that she wanted to talk to him, he and her uncles disappeared. Elisandra's considered trying to find them, but at that point, Legolas asked if Elisandra would like to come with him for a ride, as Gimli had found a book in Dwarvish on Dwarven architecture in the library the other day and wanted to read it. Elisandra accepted, and they went and found their horses, who Elisandra hadn't seen since they arrived.  
  
It was getting near lunch time when the sky started to darken, and Legolas suggested they ride back to Rivendell proper, as they could have trouble crossing the river if it rained hard. But Elisandra asked to stay.  
  
"I haven't seen a real thunderstorm in over 15 years, Legolas." she said wistfully, staring up at the clouds.  
  
"What makes you think it is going to be a thunderstorm? It could very well be just a rain storm." Legolas said, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"I don't care, either way." Elisandra replied with a smile. "I used to love rain storms when I was younger. Ranora was always telling me to get in out of the rain before I caught a cold. Even before I lost my sight. The rain was like magic to me, and I loved to run around and try and catch raindrops to look at. I tried to do it after I lost my sight, as well, but it wasn't the same. I couldn't see the rain." Legolas watched Elisandra talk, smiling slightly at the look of eagerness on her face as she watched the clouds gather and darken.  
  
"Then we shall stay and wait for the rain." Legolas said, urging his horse closer to Elisandra's. Arod snorted up at his rider, jerking his head towards the sky as if to say 'shouldn't we be GOING?' Indeed, the sky was getting a little too dark to let Legolas relax completely, but there were guard posts not far away if the river became impassable. He needed to teach Elisandra how to climb a tree, anyways. Suddenly, lightning flashed, followed by a resounding boom, and Elisandra's face burst into a smile.  
  
"SEE! Thunder and lightning. Nyah!" she said, turning away from the storm just long enough to stick her tongue out at Legolas. Legolas laughed.  
  
"Fine, fine. You can predict the weather better than me." he said, shaking his head and grinning. "I never was any good at it, anyways." Elisandra's smile grew a bit, but that was the only reaction that Legolas could see that she had heard him. If it wasn't for her need to calm the prancing horse beneath her, Legolas had no doubt that Elisandra would be still as a statue as she watched the rain. Her attention was riveted on the clouds as they swirled in the wind. Then the rain came, and Elisandra was giggling as she tried to catch raindrops. She was failing miserably, but she didn't really care. More lightning and thunder came, and even Arod started prancing, causing Legolas to frown.  
  
"Elisandra, if we are going to stay out in the rain, I suggest we at least let the horses get under some cover." he said. Elisandra glanced away from her attempts to catch rain drops to the horses. Seeing them prancing, she flicked her eyes closed, then looked at the horses in annoyance when she opened her eyes again.  
  
"Silly horses, there's nothing to be afraid of!" she said crossly, and then sighed. "Come on then. Where can we take them?"  
  
"Into the forest. There is a guard post not too far away where we can leave them." Legolas replied. "Then we can come back and watch the rain." Elisandra nodded.  
  
"Lead the way." she said, and Legolas urged Arod away from the grassy field they'd been standing in and into the trees, Elisandra following on her horse. They went at a slow walk through the forest, as it was extraordinarily dark due to the rain. When they reached the guard post, Legolas shouted up to them and asked if they'd mind if he and Elisandra left their horses there. The guards replied that they wouldn't, and Legolas and Elisandra dismounted, tied up Elisandra's horse - which was a human horse and liable to run away, unlike Arod, who was a Rohirric horse that was not liable to run away - and went back to the field.  
  
Now free to run about on her own two feet, Elisandra was soon dashing throughout the entire field, watching the rain, and sometimes trying to catch it, either in her hands or her mouth. The rain was coming down heavier now, so she was having less trouble, and soon decided to take a break from catching rain to try and pull Legolas out into the rain.  
  
"Oh no, I am staying in here where it is dry." he said when Elisandra told him to come out.  
  
"What does dry matter? It's rain! Beautiful rain! Come on!" Elisandra said, spreading her arms and smiling up at the sky.  
  
"I prefer dry, thank you. I do not really want to have to explain to Elladan and Elrohir why we are both soaking wet when we return to Rivendell, besides." Legolas said.  
  
"So is staying dry your only excuse?" Elisandra asked, arching an eyebrow at Legolas. He looked back warily, but didn't have time to answer, as he suddenly found himself hugged by a very soaking wet Elisandra.  
  
"There! Now you have no excuse!" she said cheerfully, giving him a quick kiss before letting go and skipping off into the rain again. Legolas shook his head and smiled, then followed her out into the rain. He ended out just sitting in the middle of the field, getting wet, while Elisandra scampered around. Occasionally she'd come over to him, sitting in his lap or beside him, and rest for a moment, but a few minutes later, she was off. It really was an interesting sight, and Legolas enjoyed watching her. And the fact that her soaking wet dress was hugging ALL of her form tightly had nothing to do with it.  
  
The rain eventually got a little too heavy, even for Elisandra to stand, and the thunder and lightning was straight over head, hurting both Legolas and Elisandra's ears, so they decided to go back to the guard post and fetch their horses so they could return to Rivendell. When they reached the guard post, however, they found a contingent of horsemen waiting underneath the tree, an extra empty horse indicating that one of their number was in the tree talking to the guards. Legolas and Elisandra stopped when they spotted the horses, and Legolas arched an eyebrow at Elisandra.  
  
"They're from Gondor." Elisandra said in surprise, peering at the horses. Then she let her eyes close again, and when she opened her eyes again she looked even more surprised. "And that's Aragorn's horse."  
  
"How can you tell?" Legolas asked with curiosity - the darkness and rain were making it hard for him to even make out the white tree on the riders uniforms. Elisandra blinked, and then blushed.  
  
"Uh, I can see fëas when I close my eyes." Elisandra said sheepishly.  
  
"Can you now." Legolas said flatly, arching an eyebrow. "And when were you planning on telling me?"  
  
"When I remembered?" Elisandra said, smiling uncertainly. Legolas shook his head and chuckled.  
  
"Very well. Is there anything ELSE you would like to tell me?" he asked, half joking.  
  
"Hmm, yes, but now isn't the time for it." Elisandra said thoughtfully, thinking of her conversation with Haldir. Legolas blinked. "I shall tell you later. For now, let's go see why Aragorn is here." Elisandra went to step forward, but Legolas stopped her.  
  
"Let me go first, hm? You have changed a lot since we left Gondor, and I think it would be best to warn Aragorn." Legolas said. Elisandra paused, and then nodded. So Elisandra stayed in the trees while Legolas approached the trees. The riders from Gondor seemed to be on edge, several drawing their weapons in surprise when Legolas stepped into view. One of the riders quickly recognized Legolas, however, and the weapons were returned to their sheaths. The riders and Legolas exchanged nods of acknowledgement, and then Legolas climbed into the guards' tree, hearing the soft sounds of Elvish being spoken above him even before he reached the base of the tree.  
  
As Legolas climbed, the voices became more distinct, and he heard the guard Elves telling Aragorn that yes, a party from Minas Tirith had come through recently. Aragorn was just readying himself to get back on his horse and continue to Rivendell when Legolas pulled himself onto the guard posts platform.  
  
"Ah, Legolas! I thought I recognized Arod!" Aragorn said in greeting. "Or at least, he recognized me." Aragorn rolled his eyes at that, and the two other Elves on the platform chuckled. Legolas grinned.  
  
"How could he forget you after all the merry chases you have led him on?" he asked.  
  
"I? I may have led them, but I was not the one riding him!" Aragorn said defensively. "If he should remember anyone for the merry chases he has been on, it should be you!"  
  
"He does." Legolas said dryly, and Aragorn chuckled.  
  
"Well met, my friend. Well met." he said, grasping Legolas' hand in a firm grip. Legolas smiled back. "So, tell me, if you are here, then do I dare hope that my foster daughter managed to make it here as well?"  
  
"You do indeed." Legolas replied.  
  
"Wonderful! Is she in Rivendell?" Aragorn asked with a smile.  
  
"Actually, she's down below." Legolas replied.  
  
"Where? I should like to see her again." Aragorn said, moving towards the edge of the platform as if expecting Elisandra to be standing right beneath the tree.  
  
"She is farther out in the woods, my friend, but before you meet her, you should know that she is not the same girl that left Minas Tirith." Legolas said solemnly. Aragorn looked at Legolas with worry.  
  
"What has happened?" he asked.  
  
"She can see, Aragorn." Legolas replied. "And her Elven heritage has emerged."  
  
"What do you mean?" Aragorn asked with a stunned expression on his face.  
  
"Her ears have the points of elvish ears, and her senses have improved tenfold. She also makes no sound when walking." Legolas replied.  
  
"When did this happen?" Aragorn asked, looking very much like he wanted to sit down. The two guard Elves smiled sympathetically.  
  
"On our journey here." Legolas replied. "We shall explain it more later. But now, I believe you wished to see your foster daughter?" Aragorn nodded, still looking slightly dazed, and followed Legolas as he climbed down from the tree, barely remembering to bid the guards goodbye. Once on the ground, Legolas looked at Aragorn with amusement before leading his friend into the forest. The riders seemed a little leery about letting their King go off with a strange Elf into a dark forest, but Aragorn waved them back.  
  
Elisandra met the Elf and ex-ranger halfway, and wrapped her foster father in a huge bear hug. After a surprised moment, Aragorn hugged back, though Legolas noticed the quick glance at Elisandra's ears to confirm what Legolas had told him. When Elisandra pulled back, she was smiling widely.  
  
"It's wonderful to see you!" she said.  
  
"It is wonderful to see you, as well." Aragorn said, then looked at Elisandra's sopping wet clothing and arched an eyebrow. "Why are you soaking wet?" Elisandra glanced at Legolas.  
  
"I told him you can see." Legolas confirmed for her with a nod.  
  
"This is the first thunderstorm I've been able to see in over fifteen years. I decided to stay out and watch it." Elisandra told Aragorn with a smile.  
  
"And you brought Legolas with you?" Aragorn asked, arching an eyebrow as he noticed his friend's soaking wet clothes for the first time.  
  
"Dragged is more like it." Legolas said grumpily. "I was fine under the trees until she decided to hug me and get me soaking wet, as well."  
  
"And now you're soaking wet, too, Aragorn." Elisandra said with a wicked grin. Aragorn pushed the slight twinge he felt at hearing Elisandra call him by his name instead of 'father', and glanced down at himself to discover that, yes, he was indeed now soaked.  
  
"Ah well. I was going to get wet when I continued on to Rivendell, anyways." he said. "Speaking of Rivendell, what say we go there now? Thunderstorms are all fine and interesting when you have had a rest, but I have been riding the entire day."  
  
"Very well then, let us go to Rivendell!" Elisandra said with a smile. "And then you can explain why you're here. I thought you couldn't leave Minas Tirith unless Faramir came from Ithilien?"  
  
"I couldn't. So I called him in from Ithilien." Aragorn said with a slight smirk, and then got a worried look on his face. "Though I think I shall have to avoid Eowyn for quite awhile. She was none to happy when I last saw her in Minas Tirith."  
  
"I am sure Arwen will have managed to calm her down by the time you return." Legolas said with a smile. "Now come, let us go." With that, they returned to the guard post, where Aragorn's guard, as well at the three's horses, were waiting.  
  
\/---Reviews are really nice, and help me write, as my Author's Note says. So please leave one!---\/ 


	24. Naneth

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: OK, just about everyone caught me on this in the last chapter, so I figured I'd clarify. The little section 'Elisandra's horse - which was a human horse and liable to run away, unlike Arod, who was a human horse that was not liable to run away' was not typed wrong. I was just being confusing and clarifying that Arod wasn't likely to run away, while Elisandra's horse was likely to run away, despite the fact that they were both human horses. However, since everybody was obviously confused by it, that section has now been changed to: 'Elisandra's horse - which was a human horse and liable to run away, unlike Arod, who was a Rohirric horse that was not liable to run away' Sound good? Good. And let this be a warning to all the other authors reading this - this is what happens when you edit a chapter when half asleep. You miss blatantly confusing things.  
  
And on the bright side - I have a Sindarin dictionary now! Go me! So Legolas will actually be using some Elvish now! *hop* And the chapter's title is Sindarin...it means 'mother'.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXIV-  
  
-Naneth-  
  
------------------------------  
  
When Legolas, Elisandra, Aragorn, and the guard from Gondor reached Rivendell, they found, to their surprise, that Elladan and Elrohir were already waiting for them. It was still raining - and quite heavily - but the twins were standing out in the courtyard in their normal, indoors clothes, thoroughly soaked. Legolas and Elisandra glanced at each other in confusion, and then Elisandra spotted Haldir standing not far off, also dressed in normal indoor clothing and thoroughly soaked. She pointed him out to Legolas with a nod of her head, and he grinned, the realization that Celeborn was responsible for all three of them being out in the rain coming to him, as well.  
  
"Greetings, Estel." Elrohir said with a smile as they rode up. Aragorn arched an eyebrow at the soaked twins, then, noticing Legolas and Elisandra's grins, decided not to comment.  
  
"Greetings, Elrohir, Elladan." he said cheerfully, dismounting. Legolas and Elisandra were quick to follow him to the ground, despite the annoyed glances they were getting from the twins for their grins.  
  
"This is a most welcome surprise, brother. What brings you to Rivendell?" Elladan asked.  
  
"Them." Aragorn said, nodding towards Elisandra and Legolas, who looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Ah, you received word of their adventures on the journey here, then?" Elrohir said, and Aragorn nodded.  
  
"I have. But perhaps we should continue this conversation inside?" Aragorn said pointedly. Elisandra watched, slightly amused, as Elrohir and Elladan glanced at each other, then over to Haldir, who shrugged in response to their silent question.  
  
"We should, yes." Elladan said, turning back to Aragorn. When neither brother moved, Aragorn arched an eyebrow inquiringly.  
  
"We should, but Elladan and I will not risk entering the house until supper." Elrohir said, glancing towards the house with slight nervousness while Elladan shifted from foot to foot.  
  
"And why not?" Aragorn asked, his eyebrow rising higher. The twins glanced at each other, but neither answered. When Aragorn started to look impatient, Elisandra decided to step in.  
  
"I believe they are in fear of Lord Celeborn's wrath?" she said with a smirk. The twins glared at her. Both of Aragorn's eyebrows shot up.  
  
"What did you do this time?" he asked.  
  
"Why do you automatically assume WE did something? Could it not just be that Grandfather is in a bad mood and we wish to steer clear of him?" Elladan asked with slight annoyance.  
  
"I assume you did something because you are standing out in the rain soaking wet, something you would never do under normal conditions." Aragorn replied. "But whatever it is you did, you are going to have to live with the consequences of it, since I, for one, do not intend to stand out here until supper time. Neither do I intend to let my men, after riding with me almost non stop from Gondor, to continue standing out in the rain." With that, Aragorn strode past the twins, who, after glaring at him, quickly followed. Legolas and Elisandra were not far behind, both noticing that Haldir remained outside.  
  
Once inside, Elladan and Elrohir, without even stopping to change into drier clothes, immediately started assigning rooms to Aragorn and his men, and Legolas and Elisandra soon excused themselves to go find their own dry clothes. On their way back to their rooms, they encountered Celeborn, who, with a rather evil gleam in his eyes, asked them if they'd seen Elladan, Elrohir or his 'renegade Marchwarden'.  
  
"I believe I last saw my uncles finding rooms for Aragorn and his men." Elisandra replied innocently. "I have not encountered Haldir since breakfast."  
  
"Many thanks." Celeborn said, a grin breaking out over his face, and he headed off the way Legolas and Elisandra had come. Legolas arched an eyebrow at Elisandra once the Lord was gone.  
  
"May I ask why you did not mention Haldir's whereabouts?" Legolas asked.  
  
"Mmm, I'll tell you later." Elisandra replied. "Or, actually, you shall figure it out later when I tell you something else." Legolas paused, digesting that, and then nodded.  
  
"Very well." he said, and they started walking towards their rooms again. When they came to the hall were they had to part to get to their individual rooms, they paused, and Legolas pulled Elisandra close to him for a brief kiss.  
  
"I shall see you later, meleth [love]." Legolas said with a soft smile. Elisandra returned the smile, and they parted ways. Going to her room, Elisandra changed quickly, then grabbed the rain-proof cloak that she'd acquired from her uncles on her arrival at Rivendell, and headed in the direction she knew Haldir's room was. She didn't expect him to be there - he'd most likely still be outside, avoiding Celeborn - but she could find one of his cloaks and take it out to him. And then she could ask him the question that had been itching at her mind since they'd talked last night.  
  
As she suspected, Haldir was not in evidence in his room, so after a minimal amount of searching, she found one of his cloaks, and with the cloak draped over her arm, headed back out into the rain. It was still raining quite heavily, she discovered happily, and smiled as she watched the rain come down. Haldir, thankfully, had not gone far from the entrance, though he was now looking rather longingly at the entrance. When Elisandra approached him, he eyed her warily for a moment, then brightened when she held out the cloak.  
  
"I thought you might appreciate a little protection." she said with a smile as Haldir hurriedly put on the cloak.  
  
"I do. Thank you." he said, wrapping the cloak around him. "Though I'm afraid it will not do much good, since I am already soaked."  
  
"I'm sure you'll dry out." Elisandra said. "And perhaps after Celeborn has dealt with the twins, his wrath will have subsided enough that you may go in and dry off properly."  
  
"IF Celeborn deals with the twins. Those two know many ways to stay out of the path of one they do not wish to meet." Haldir said, his appreciation clearly heard in his voice.  
  
"Ah, but they were still showing Aragorn and his men to their rooms when I directed Celeborn their way." Elisandra said with a wicked grin. "There was no way for them to escape him." Haldir arched an eyebrow.  
  
"After hearing that, somehow entering the house before supper does not sound like such a good idea, especially coming from you." he said.  
  
"Oh, I won't tell Celeborn where you are." Elisandra said, and then as a thought occurred to her, she grinned again and added, "If you answer a question for me."  
  
"And what question might that be?" Haldir asked warily.  
  
"One about...our conversation last night." Elisandra said, suddenly unsure. Haldir seemed just as unsure as her, but after a moment, nodded.  
  
"Ask away, then." he said. Elisandra bit her lip, and remained silent for a moment longer. Finally, she took a deep breath and asked.  
  
"Are you my father?" For what seemed like hours, but was only minutes, the only sound was the rain coming down around them. Then, Haldir spoke.  
  
"Unless Eneira was hiding another reason for leaving Lothlorien, yes." he said.  
  
"You speak as if she already hid a reason for leaving." Elisandra said with curiosity.  
  
"She did, though I did not know it at the time." Haldir replied with a sigh. "She saw me only briefly before she left, insisting that she could not bear the hurt she would bring to me when she grew old and died. I tried to talk her out of leaving, but she was persistent, and I was on watch and could not go after her as I wished. I doubt it would have made much difference, anyways. But when I returned to Lothlorien in the evening, I was determined to go after her.  
  
"It was then that Orophin handed me a letter from her, saying he would not let me go anywhere until I had read it. I think Eneira ordered him to do that under pain of her wrath." Haldir smiled wryly. "Ever since my brother has claimed that as he stood in my way and insisted I read the letter, he was in mortal fear of another kinslaying occurring.  
  
"My wrath was not that strong, however, and the pull of a letter from Eneira, even though I had no doubt it would say naught but goodbye, was strong. So I stayed and read the letter. Among many other things, it warned me not to come after her. She claimed that she would rather die than live to see my pain as she grew older. She knew that I would still try to follow, thinking I could convince her otherwise, and warned that if I still followed, I would be risking not one life, but two. At the time, I thought she meant that she was threatening my life, as well. But I now know she was not." Haldir smiled sadly as he finished, and Elisandra swallowed heavily.  
  
"She knew she was with child - she knew she was carrying me." Elisandra choked out. Haldir nodded.  
  
"Aye, she knew. And true to her personality, instead of it bringing her great joy, it brought her great pain, for she knew that you would be Half-Elven, and that you would live to see her grow old and die, and far beyond." he said.  
  
"What is so terrible about growing old and dieing that she feared it so? It is no terrible thing, from what I have seen. Certainly those in Minas Tirith do not appear to fear it as you say she did." Elisandra said with a slight frown. Haldir paused, frowning in thought, before he answered.  
  
"Eneira did not so much fear growing old and dieing as fear for others feelings as she grew old and died. Eneira hated to cause others pain - taking them down a notch, or embarrassing them, was fine. But she drew the line at emotional or physical pain. It was one of the reasons her and Orophin's victims always forgave them rather quickly. They would come and apologize for their pranks and explain why they had done them if their victims seemed to become distressed over the incident. Once they even managed to order all the Elves in Caras Galadhorn not to mention a prank they had pulled the day before because the Elf they had played it on had not taken it as well as they had thought he would." Haldir explained. "So Eneira's great fear was not of dieing - she seemed fully ready to accept it when it happened - but her fear was of causing others pain with her death."  
  
"And yet, in her attempt to escape causing such pain, she seems to have caused more than she would have if she had just remained." Elisandra said softly.  
  
"Aye, one could say that." Haldir said, and then smiled suddenly. "But come, the rain has stopped, the sun is shining. Let us leave sad memories behind for now." Elisandra smiled and nodded in return, noticing for the first time that the rain had indeed stopped, and the clouds that had caused the rain were far distant.  
  
"Let's!" she said, removing her cloak. Haldir did the same, and then glanced down at his still damp clothes with a critical eye.  
  
"I believe these clothes need some sun to dry properly." he said, they offered Elisandra his arm. "Care to walk with me while they dry?"  
  
"Would you not prefer to return to your room and change into dryer clothes?" Elisandra asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"These clothes need to dry sooner or later. Whether they dry on me or not makes no difference - the sun shall be doing the work either way." Haldir said with a shrug. Elisandra grinned at Haldir's logic, and then took his arm.  
  
"In that case, I shall be delighted to accompany you for a walk." she said, and then frowned as she felt a twinge in her stomach. "But only if the walk leads to food. I seem to have forgotten lunch."  
  
"As have I." Haldir remarked, then added thoughtfully. "Though I did not so much as forget, as fear my Lord's wrath more than I needed food." Elisandra chuckled as the two of them began to walk in the general direction of the kitchens. The kitchens had their own door to the outside, so Haldir didn't need to enter the house and risk running into Celeborn. Though, truthfully, there was just as much risk of running into Celeborn outside, now that the rain had stopped. Neither Elisandra nor Haldir choose to think on that, however.  
  
They walked in silence for a while, Elisandra enjoying the scenery and the sun like only one who is newly able to see them can, and Haldir lost in his thoughts. After awhile, however, Haldir's thoughts became too depressing and sad for him, so he shook his head and turned to Elisandra to talk.  
  
"So, now that we have dismissed talk of your mother because of the weather, perhaps we shall talk about you?" he said.  
  
"There is not much about me to talk about." Elisandra said with a smile, pulling herself away from the scenery. "But if there is anything you wish to know, ask." Haldir paused to consider that for a moment, and then grinned almost mischievously.  
  
"Anything, you say?" he said. Elisandra eyed him warily, wondering if perhaps she had made a mistake, and when Haldir spoke again, she realized she had. "How is your relationship with Legolas coming along?" Haldir asked, and Elisandra held in a groan.  
  
"What relationship? We are friends." she said, suddenly finding the path very interesting.  
  
"Really now." Haldir said in a disbelieving tone. "I must say, I've never encountered a pair of friends before that likes to take moonlit strolls through deserted gardens." Elisandra stumbled a bit, and then glared at Haldir.  
  
"And how would you know how Legolas and I spend our time?" she asked with mock severity, really just hoping to get off the topic of her and Legolas. She had accepted her feelings for him, yes, but that didn't mean she was particularly inclined to share them with others.  
  
"Hmm, you ran into me on your latest walk, perhaps?" Haldir replied, and then added thoughtfully. "Dwarves are handy sources of information, as well."  
  
"I am going to shoot Gimli." Elisandra declared.  
  
"Be gentle, yendë [daughter], Dwarves are also very easy to get information out of without them even knowing they are giving anything away." Haldir said with a smile. Elisandra was silent then, thoughtful, also trying to get over her surprise at how easily Haldir had referred to her as his daughter. Haldir, however, did not intend to let the subject he had chosen drop.  
  
"So, is my information about how you and Legolas spend your evenings correct?" he prodded. Elisandra sighed, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Even if it is, what is wrong with walking?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing at all, if that is ALL you two are doing." he replied, arching an eyebrow. He grinned when he saw a blush start to creep up Elisandra's neck, knowing he'd hit the mark. "Lovers, then?" The glare he received confirmed his guess, and he smiled back at her placidly. After a moment, Elisandra relaxed her glare and smiled back ruefully.  
  
"Somehow I get the feeling I had it much easier in Gondor than I would have had if I had grown up in Lothlorien." she said.  
  
"Most likely. Aragorn is rather pliable in any woman's hands." Haldir said, hiding a snigger. "Though I would inquire after Elladan and Elrohir about ways to avoid those seeking you should Aragorn discover that you and Legolas are lovers."  
  
"I was already planning on it." Elisandra replied dryly. "I have felt his over protectiveness first hand, after all, what with my sight being so limited during all the time I was in Minas Tirith. I am actually surprised he has not come looking for me by now, concerned that I am wandering about in a strange place by myself."  
  
"He is probably either tired, trying not to laugh at Elladan and Elrohir as they complain about Lord Celeborn, greeting various elves, or all three." Haldir said as they approached the kitchen entrance. Elisandra laughed, then let go of Haldir's arm as he opened the door to the kitchen. He had barely stuck his head in and found one of the cooks that he recognized before he was rudely shoved out again, followed by said cook that he'd recognized.  
  
"Árahen, what -" Haldir was cut off as the Elf's hand clamped over his mouth.  
  
"You have the worst timing of any Elf I know!" she hissed, and then fell silent, cocking her head to one side, listening. Elisandra and Haldir, now listening as well, soon heard Lord Celeborn's voice drifting out from the kitchen, mixed with those of the kitchen staff. He was not there for long, however, and soon they heard him bidding farewell. Only once Árahen was sure Lord Celeborn was gone did she remove her hand from where it was still clamped over Haldir's mouth.  
  
"Honestly, Haldir! The one time in the entire morning Lord Celeborn thinks to look in the kitchens, you show up!" she said in exasperation.  
  
"I did not plan it that way!" Haldir said indignantly. "I have been avoiding him all morning! It is simply bad luck on my part!" Árahen snorted, obviously not believing him for an instant.  
  
"Whatever you say, Haldir." she said. "What dragged you down here at such an inopportune moment, anyways?"   
  
"Hunger." Elisandra replied for Haldir. "Both of us managed to skip lunch."  
  
"Ah, well now that can be remedied." Árahen said brightly, then shot a look at Haldir and added, "Unlike the unerring ability some Marchwarden's have to show up wherever their Lord's are, whether it is wise or not." Haldir scowled slightly at the cook, and Elisandra grinned.  
  
"Ah, what wouldn't all children give to hear their parent scolded by a kitchen cook." she said soft enough that only Haldir could here, and barely managed to dodge Haldir's grab for her ear. Her grin growing, Elisandra dashed into the kitchen, Árahen and Haldir following at a more sedate pace.  
  
\/---Reviews are nice, yes indeed. Please leave one? *puppy dog eyes* Pretty please? With an elf on top?---\/ 


	25. Tales of Discovery

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Random cute Elves to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Keep 'em on a tight leash, folks, or they might disapear on you...  
  
Authors Note: Seeing one of the movies or having no FanFictions to read seems to do wonders for my productivity...and so we continue with the story that is, I am sorry to say, slowly but surely drawing to a close. I will be slightly surprised if it passes 'Sightseeing in Middle-Earth' in number of chapters, and absolutely amazed if it reaches 30...but then, I still have a whole whack of stuff to resolve. Aragorn's reaction to Legolas and Elisandra, everybodies reaction to Haldir's relationship to Elisandra, what Celeborn did to the twins...We shall see.  
  
As a side note, I stole one of the ideas for one of the scenes in here between Elisandra and Legolas from somewhere...I can't remember where. But I know I've seen or read something like it before...  
  
And as one last note for this chapter, I realized as I was finishing writing it that if you exclude Legolas and Aragorn's Evlish (though not translated into such) conversation a few chapters back, I believe I've doubled my total Elvish usage in this story with this chapter. Maybe I should actually learn Sindarin or Quenya, hm? Also, my apologies to anyone who can speak Elvish if I've managed to horribly mangle Sindarin grammar rules with my one Elvish sentence...which I probably have, knowing me and grammar (we don't get along...)  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXV-  
  
-Tales of Discovery-  
  
------------------------------  
  
After a quick, late lunch, Haldir and Elisandra returned to the gardens, walking where they would, talking occasionally, and generally enjoying each others company. They, much to their own surprises, took rather quickly to calling the other yendë [daughter] or atar [father]. Thinking on it in a moment of silence, Elisandra realized that it was probably due to them still reveling in their newfound knowledge of the other's relation to them. At least on her part, since Haldir had admitted that he'd known she was his daughter before she even set foot in Rivendell. Whatever the reason, they were content to simply walk through the gardens together, and so Legolas found them not long before supper.  
  
"Elisandra! Here you are! You have been missed." he said pointedly as he came up.  
  
"My apologies, I got distracted." Elisandra said with a smile, and Haldir watched with no little amusement as she unconsciously let go of his arm and latched onto Legolas'. And when Legolas looked at him over Elisandra's head, challenge written on his face, Haldir outright laughed. Elisandra looked over at Haldir curiously, wondering what had made him laugh, while Legolas was clearly confused.  
  
"What ARE you laughing about?" Elisandra demanded when Haldir's laughter had abated somewhat.  
  
"Nothing, yendë. I believe I shall go see if Lord Celeborn's wrath has subsided enough for me to return to my rooms, however." he said. "Namárië! [Farewell!]"  
  
"Namárië, atar!" Elisandra replied, waving as Haldir headed off towards the house. It was only once Haldir was out of sight that Elisandra looked up to find Legolas staring down at her in shock. "What?" she asked when he continued to stare. "Legolas?" Legolas finally seemed to snap out of his shock, and shook his head slightly before looking down at Elisandra and arching an eyebrow.  
  
"'Yendë'? 'Atar'? I take it this is what you had to tell me later?" Legolas asked. Elisandra blinked in surprise, and then chuckled.  
  
"Yes, it was, actually. Though I had intended to tell you in a less shocking way. Atarinya [My father] apparently had other ideas, however." she said.  
  
"No wonder you have spent the entire afternoon out talking with him." Legolas said with a smile. "And for that matter, no wonder you told Lord Celeborn you did not know where he was." Elisandra nodded, and then Legolas adopted a curious look. "So have you discovered more than just that he is your father?" Elisandra nodded once again.  
  
"Yes, I have, and you were right to tell me to wait to judge my father until I had met him." she said with a smile.  
  
"Ah, so I have some wisdom in me somewhere, despite what you and Gimli keep insisting!" Legolas said brightly.  
  
"Yes, somewhere, though where it is I couldn't imagine..." Elisandra said, and then grinned mischievously. "Maybe in your cloak..." she then started prodding the cloak that was hanging down his back and generally acting as if she was searching for something in it.  
  
"Elisandra," Legolas said with a chuckle, trying to pull her away from his cloak when it became obvious she wasn't going to let the joke fall.  
  
"Nope, not there." Elisandra said after a short while of 'searching' in Legolas' cloak and avoiding his hands. "Maybe your sleeve?" As she attempted, her face a mask of concentration, to peer up Legolas' left sleeve - something nigh near impossible, since his tunic was rather form fitting - Legolas tried, and failed, to contain his laughter while getting Elisandra to stop searching for his 'wisdom'.  
  
"Far nîn meleth! [Enough my love!]" Legolas said, laughing, as he finally managed to catch Elisandra's wrists when she went to inspect his right sleeve.  
  
"But I haven't found where you're keeping your wisdom yet!" Elisandra said with a slight pout. Legolas chuckled again, then pulled Elisandra to him and kissed her lightly.  
  
"It is well hidden so that it cannot be found and stolen." Legolas said with a small smile when he pulled away. Elisandra blinked up at him.  
  
"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" she asked, her face a mask of complete confusion. Legolas laughed, then leaned down and kissed Elisandra again. It wasn't until sometime later that that kiss ended, and it only ended then because of the sound of a throat being cleared loudly. Both Elisandra and Legolas looked up towards the source of the noise somewhat guiltily and slightly fearfully in case it was Aragorn, Elrohir or Elladan, but they found its source to be only Celeborn, still with his sky-blue hair.  
  
"Dinner is about to begin, and I believe your company would be sorely missed." Celeborn said, arching an eyebrow, and then disappeared in the direction of the house.  
  
"He didn't even act surprised." Elisandra commented.  
  
"He probably knew before we did." Legolas said with a slight roll of his eyes. Elisandra chuckled slightly, then took Legolas' arm as he offered it to her, and they headed off in the direction of the house. When they arrived at the hall for dinner, they found that they were actually rather early. Of the eight that would be sitting in the middle of the head table - Haldir, Celeborn, Aragorn, Elladan, Elrohir, Gimli and themselves - only Celeborn had arrived before them, and the hall was barely half filled. Celeborn arched an eyebrow slightly when he saw them, his expression showing his surprise that they had come so quickly. They both decided to studiously ignore him after that, and took their seats and talked quietly with each other as the hall slowly started to fill.  
  
Not long after Legolas and Elisandra entered, Gimli came in, looking slightly thoughtful, and he remained that way as he sat in his chair, breaking out of his thoughts only long enough to quickly greet Legolas and Elisandra. Not long after him, Aragorn entered, and took the seat three to the left of Elisandra - on the other side of Elladan and Elrohir's seats from Elisandra. He seemed to want to talk to Elisandra, but Celeborn caught the king's attention, and Aragorn soon found himself pulled into a conversation with the Elvish Lord while trying very hard not to laugh at said Elf Lord's blue hair.  
  
The conversation ebbed somewhat, however, when Haldir entered. Celeborn glared slightly at his Marchwarden as he entered, and Haldir visibly winced, knowing that Celeborn's wrath had not subsided in the least over the course of the day. A light roll of laughter ran through the hall at his expression, but he bravely came and took his seat at the table, instead of dashing off like any sensible Elf would do when faced with Lord Celeborn's anger.  
  
However, if the conversation had ebbed slightly when Haldir entered, it stopped completely when Elladan and Elrohir entered the hall. Most of Rivendell, by now, knew of the prank the twins had pulled with Haldir's help, and the majority also knew that Celeborn had caught up with the twins early in the afternoon. Now they were silent, trying to figure out what Celeborn had done to them once he'd caught them, something no one had heard even the slightest rumor about, as Celeborn had dragged them off to his chambers to mete out his punishment.  
  
As the twins walked to their seats, however, it became apparent to the Elves that whatever Lord Celeborn had done would not be easily visible, and with an almost disappointed murmuring, the low chatter in the hall resumed. And so the majority of the Elves in the hall missed Elladan and Elrohir's winces as they sat down. Elisandra didn't miss the winces, however, nor the evil gleam in Celeborn's eyes when he saw the twins wince, and she grinned.  
  
The food was served, then, and the center of the head table remained suspiciously quiet, as only Celeborn, Aragorn, Elisandra and Legolas seemed inclined to talk, and then it was only to the one sitting next to them, and quietly. The quiet at the head table was noticed by the Elves of Rivendell, and one wise Elf sitting near the back of the hall commented that it was like the calm before a storm - almost unnatural, and with an air of foreboding and danger. Due to the nature of Elves to pass on little bits of wisdom like that, by the next morning, all of Rivendell had heard of the unnatural quiet at the head table the night before, and all stepped lightly.  
  
Which proved to be wise, as Elladan and Elrohir were both in foul tempers, as was Celeborn, who had been told late the night before for just how long his hair would be remaining blue. Haldir, for his part, could not be found, which left Aragorn, Legolas, Elisandra and Gimli to their own devices for the day. The morning they spent together, talking with each other of their journeys. Legolas, Elisandra and Gimli told their tale first - though leaving out Legolas' and Elisandra's relationship. Then it was Aragorn's turn to tell of his journey from Minas Tirith.  
  
"One of the guards came galloping back not two weeks after you left, babbling on and on about Orcs and death and blood. It had been the poor boys first fight, and being hopelessly outnumbered hadn't helped him handle it at all." Aragorn began, "It took nearly an hour to calm him down enough to get the entire story out of him in any form of coherent order. I, of course, immediately wanted to set out with my best guards. Arwen delayed me, however, long enough to send a messenger to Ithilien and receive word back that Faramir would come to Minas Tirith. After that, however, I'm afraid I became a little impatient. I think I shall have many apologies to make when I get back to Minas Tirith." Aragorn smiled wryly before continuing.  
  
"I left the morning after the messenger arrived back from Ithilien, with the guards you see with me, on the best horses to be found in Minas Tirith. We rode non-stop until we reached your ruined camp. It was a mess - the Orcs had looted, of course, and many of the bodies were gone - or worse - but we cleaned it up, burying the dead and marking their graves. We were heartened when we did not come across any of your bodies, and then Marsial - who had helped me get the story of your attack out of the young guard - remembered something that had been said about you taking a bath when the attack happened," Aragorn said, nodding his head in Elisandra's direction.  
  
"That I was, and lucky because of it." Elisandra replied gravely.  
  
"So I have heard." Aragorn said. "I remembered the pool we had passed a short ways back, and we went to it quickly. I was able to find signs of you being there, at least - mainly in the form of the bar of soap you left behind -"  
  
"THAT'S where that went!" Elisandra exclaimed, and Aragorn and Legolas chuckled. Gimli just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yes, that is where it went." Aragorn said. "After finding that, we searched the area, but it had been far too long since you had been there, and Legolas leaves no tracks, like all his Elven kindred. The most that could be told was that two horses had been led away from the campsite to a clearing not far from the pool, and then ridden away from there, heading north, towards Rivendell. We could also tell that no Orc had been near the pool - none of the greenery showed scars of the destruction the Orcs would have caused. So we rode to Rivendell, following what we could of what I now know to be your tracks, hoping to perhaps catch up to you along the way. We didn't, obviously, and so we arrived in Rivendell, encountering you almost immediately upon our arrival."  
  
"Did you find Orc tracks in your searching?" Legolas asked.  
  
"Yes, heading north-west, towards Isengard." Aragorn replied. "How they may still manage to find refuge there with the Ents guarding it, I do not know, but that was the direction their tracks led."  
  
"Perhaps they did not go all the way to Isengard, but stopped somewhere before." Elisandra said.  
  
"That is most likely. There are many hidden valleys and caves that they could find refuge in around Isengard." Aragorn replied. Silence fell for a moment, as all thought over the tales they had heard, and then Elisandra spoke again.  
  
"Now that we have heard of our journeys here, I have something to tell you of my stay in Rivendell so far." Elisandra said, a small smile forming on her lips as she thought of the news she had to tell.  
  
"Oh? What is that?" Aragorn asked with curiosity.  
  
"I have succeeded in what I set out from Minas Tirith to do." Elisandra replied, her smile breaking into a full-fledged grin. "I have found my father." Aragorn looked at Elisandra in surprise, and Gimli looked at her in shock, having been too wrapped up in his own thoughts the night before to have been told of Elisandra's discovery.  
  
"So quickly?" Aragorn asked, and Elisandra nodded.  
  
"It turned out it was a good idea to send a copy of that portrait of my mother ahead to Rivendell. Lord Celeborn recognized her, and showed the portrait to my father. It wasn't too long ago that he approached me and told me of my mother, and yesterday he told me outright that he was my father." Elisandra replied happily.  
  
"And who is he?" Aragorn asked, a strange tinge to his voice. Elisandra didn't hear the tinge, however, and supplied the answer just as happily as she had been supplying all the answers.  
  
"Haldir!" Elisandra smiled happily after her announcement, waiting for a reaction, but frowned slightly when, other then a grunt from Gimli, there was no reaction. Aragorn simply remained the way he had been before, smiling slightly at Elisandra's enthusiasm, but his eyes contained a vacant look that said he was deep in thought.  
  
Elisandra's frown deepened when she noticed, and she went to close her eyes to see what she could read in Aragorn's fëa. Legolas, however, covered her eyes even as she closed them, so all she ended out seeing was his hand. She saw the warning glittering in Legolas' fëa, so she opened her eyes and pulled his hand away, shooting him a curious look. Before Legolas could give her any sort of reason, however, Aragorn pulled himself out of his thoughts and gave Elisandra a small smile.  
  
"I am sorry, that is wonderful news, Elisandra." he said. Elisandra nodded, still frowning slightly with concern and curiosity. "Now, if you three would excuse me, the journey from Gondor appears to have tired me out more than I thought. I believe I shall go have a rest before lunch." And with that, Aragorn rose and left the room, leaving a surprised Elisandra behind.  
  
"What was that about?" she asked.  
  
"Elisandra, Aragorn has raised you as his own daughter for most of your life, and has come to love you as his daughter. If it wasn't for the questions about your racial background, he would have never even considered finding your real father." Legolas said with a sigh. "It will be hard for him to accept that you have found another father than him. That it is Haldir, a friend of his who he knows to have an upstanding character, does not help."  
  
"Are you saying he's jealous?" Elisandra asked in surprise. Legolas smiled slightly at how easily Elisandra realized what he was trying to say, and nodded.  
  
"Aye, he is." he said.  
  
"Oh." was Elisandra's response as her brow furrowed in thought. Silence fell on the room as all its occupants fell into thought, and the next noise to be heard in the room was that of a servant informing them that lunch was to be served shortly.  
  
\/---I'm running out of creative ways to ask for reviews - so please just review so I can save my creative juices for writing the next chapter!---\/ 


	26. The Party And The Morning After

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: I have decided that rabid Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp fans are scary...there's already over *400* 'Pirates of the Caribbean' FanFictions up on FF.N. I find that very very very VERY scary. I don't know why, but I do. .  
  
Also, my apologies for the slow update. Relatives that have never visited before showed up with their Golden Retriver puppy, and, well, the rest was history. PUPPY!  
  
Anyways, despite the PUPPY, this chapter ended out starting rather angsty. Probably due to the rather angsty playlist I was listening to while writing it. Of course, that was on purpose, so I guess everything worked out right.  
  
Last note: I got bored, and thus, creative. Moreover, I was in a 'No Eyes Needed' mind set. Thus, I bring you - 'No Eyes Needed, Chapter 26: The Movie' Or at least, 'No Eyes Needed, What Chapter 26 Should Have Been: The Movie'. :D It's rather stupid and badly done, but if you want to see it, it can be found here:  
  
http://www24.brinkster.com/thosss/Pictures/NEN.gif  
  
It's rather large, 172KB. If, for some reason, you can't see it, and want to, leave me your e-mail in a review and I'll send it to you.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXVI-  
  
-The Party...And The Morning After-  
  
------------------------------  
  
The night was cool and clear, with the stars shining brightly in the sky, the moon naught but a sliver that was slowly making its way across the sky. A light breeze was winding its way through the valley in which Rivendell rested, bringing with it the moisture of the two nearby rivers, as well as a hint of the sea in the far west. It was an idealic evening, to be truthful, and for all in Rivendell, it was a night for singing and dancing, and the telling of tales - whether your hair was its normal colour or not.  
  
For all but one, that is. Aragorn looked sadly down at the Elves as they sang and danced by the bonfire that had been lit when the sun set. He remembered once when he would have joined them, and gladly, with a heart as carefree as theirs. Now, however, he stood on the balcony of his room and watched in sadness, his heart resting heavily inside his chest.  
  
He watched, his sadness growing, as the girl that he'd raised from childhood stumbled and laughed as she was taught the steps of an Elvish dance. Watched as her blood father, who had so quickly replaced him, laughed and corrected her steps, only to pass her off to another elf once he was sure she knew what she was doing. Aragorn watched as his foster daughter swirled around the fire with the new elf, just far enough outside the ring of light that those without well adjusted night vision could not recognize who the pair was, nor see the kisses stolen as they danced. He watched as his brothers by marriage surprised the couple, one sweeping away their foster niece for a dance - and a chat - and the other staying behind to talk with the partner that had been left behind. He watched and listened while several dances flew by, and then watched as his brothers-in-law melted away into the darkness, and his foster daughter returned to the partner she'd been pulled away from.  
  
And as he watched, Aragorn gradually came to realize the truth. He had ridden hard from Minas Tirith after hearing of the Orc attack, fearing the loss of his daughter. But now that he was in Rivendell, he realized that, though he had not lost her to Orcs or to death, he had lost her all the same - to the Elves. With a sigh, he let his thoughts drift from Arda to Aman, where his own foster father now lived, and silently asked Elrond how he had done it. How he had been able to let him go, to find his family, his people, his heritage.  
  
The Valar knew that Aragorn was not sure he could do it. The attachment he had formed to Elisandra was so much stronger than a normal attachment of a father to a child - not only because he had felt the need to protect her because of her sight, but because she had several times saved his life. It was also due to her reminding him of himself when he was younger; a member of one race living amongst those of another.  
  
Aragorn had known that Elisandra was Half-Elven, of course. Elrond had sensed her Elven side when he'd tried to heal her sight, and just before leaving, had pulled Aragorn aside and told him of Elisandra's blood, warning him that she would one day need to be told. As it had turned out, he had to tell her nothing, but neither he nor Elrond had anticipated Elisandra's blood father still being alive. The thought had honestly never occurred to them - both knew that no Elf would knowingly leave their child to the care of others while they still lived, and so they assumed that Elisandra's Elven father was dead. The times they had just come through were hard enough that it was not hard to believe. Here he was, however, alive and well, and stepping into the role of father so easily that one had to wonder if he had not watched over Elisandra her entire life.  
  
And what time of Elisandra's Haldir did not take up, Legolas used the rest. It was becoming rare to see Elisandra anywhere without one of the two Elves. With a disapproving snort, Aragorn sarcastically wondered if Elisandra was alone even when she slept, or if his long-time friend and fellow Walker spent the nights with his foster daughter. Just as soon as the thought came, however, it left with a dejected sigh, as Aragorn realized that what he might think of their relationship was of no matter. He was no longer Elisandra's father - her quick attachment to Haldir, and her refusal to continue calling him 'father', was proof of that. It was up to Haldir to guide Elisandra, now, and he seemed more than happy to encourage her and Legolas.  
  
Though Aragorn wasn't sure if he would do much different. Sure, it would be - was - strange to him to see his foster daughter and his friend together, but he knew what it was like to have a love denied, and if the two truly loved one another - which anyone watching them could tell they did - then he would not stand in their way. It was just strange to him to see his friend, who had known him since his mother first brought him to Rivendell, stealing kisses from a girl he had raised from childhood.  
  
That was the true curse of befriending Elves, Aragorn mused as he watched Elisandra and Legolas melt into the night, talking quietly to each other and heading in the direction of Elisandra's room. It was not the knowledge of knowing that as you grew old and died, your Elven friends would remain the same as they always had. The curse was trying to wrap your mind to a new way of thinking, as immortality turned all ideas of time, age, and propriety upside-down. Thinking on it, Aragorn wondered with amusement why no one had ever heard of an Elf-friend going mad. Certainly he felt like he might be heading in that direction.  
  
At that thought, Aragorn chuckled, and decided that he was thinking far too much. And two twins had once told him that the surest cure for thinking too much was drinking too much. So, with a heart at least ignoring the sadness within it, Aragorn strode out of his room and headed down to the bonfire. Once down there, he grabbed a bottle of Miruvor, then joined Elrohir and Elladan where they sat huddled under a tree, apparently planning a prank. Upon hearing who the victim was to be, Aragorn promptly put in a few suggestions of his own. Those Rivendell elves that noticed the three planning away under the tree shook their heads, already feeling sympathy for their Lord's and the King's victim-to-be.  
  
---  
  
The first thing Elisandra was aware of when she woke up was the several Oliphaunts that were dancing around inside her skull. The second thing she became aware of was the disconcerting fact that her pillow seemed to be rising and falling beneath her head in a steady rhythm, which was making the Oliphaunts dance around even more. With a groan she heaved her body away from her pillow, only to come into contact with a nice, soft, and entirely still pillow. The difference between the two made her groggily try to jump start her mind and figure out what was different between the two. She abandoned the idea of trying to think, however, when several dozen Orcs decided to join to Oliphaunts dancing around her skull.  
  
The Orcs were just leaving when Elisandra felt a light touch on her back, and when she started, the Orcs came running back for more fun. Blearily raising a hand to her head, Elisandra groaned again, this time in pain. To her utter annoyance, she heard a chuckle from behind her. She whipped her head around and glared at the offending chuckler before she could think of the consequences. The glare barely had time to settle on a blonde-haired form before pain lanced into her skull, making her feel like her head was on fire. With a whimper, she clutched her head and curled into a ball, her vision darkening at the pain overtook her mind.  
  
Wrapped up in the pain in her head, she didn't feel or see the movement on the bed beside her, nor hear the concerned words said to her. She did, however, hear the soft and soothing words that were said after what seemed to be an eternity of pain, and she felt the slight warmth from two hands pressed on either side of her head. The pain subsided to a more bearable level, and she relaxed, her vision clearing, though it remained vague, fuzzy and confused. After a few more moments, and the vague feeling of someone else moving on the bed, Elisandra felt her head lifted and a glass pressed to her lips. She drank greedily, suddenly realizing she was parched, and as the pain subsided to a dull ache that she was able to ignore, her vision focused and she found herself looking into Legolas' concerned, though still amused, face.  
  
"Hangover?" Legolas asked in a low voice.  
  
"Yes." Elisandra replied sourly, suddenly wishing she had enough energy to pull a pillow over her head to hide Legolas' slightly smirking face.  
  
"Miruvor tends to do that to anyone without an Elvish constitution." he said.  
  
"Then somebody either stop me from drinking it again or get me an Elvish constitution!" Elisandra groaned.  
  
"Mmm, I shall keep that in mind the next time Elladan and Elrohir bring out the Miruvor stores." Legolas said, and then frowned slightly. Elves may not suffer from hangovers like humans, but they still suffered the side effect of a confused memory when they drank too much, and Legolas' memory about last night was definitely confused. The mention of the twins, however, seemed to have triggered something in Legolas' mind. Whatever it was slipped out of the grasp of his mind, however, so with a shrug, he dismissed it.  
  
"Would you care to join me for some breakfast?" Legolas asked, turning his attention back to Elisandra.  
  
"Urg, don't mention food." Elisandra said, making a face, and Legolas chuckled again. "And stop chuckling." Elisandra added in annoyance. Legolas stopped and grinned, instead.  
  
"Very well." he said. "I am, however, hungry, and if you do not wish to join me for breakfast, then I am afraid I shall have to leave you and go find food by myself."  
  
"Fine, just go and stop mentioning food." Elisandra said, looking slightly greenish, and Legolas stifled another chuckle before giving Elisandra a light kiss on the cheek, quickly finding and donning his clothing, then heading out the door. Looking down at his clothes, which had obtained a few wrinkles from spending the night on the floor, Legolas decided it would be best to return to his room and change before finding some breakfast.  
  
Even the mere thought of breakfast set his stomach rumbling, earning himself strange looks from the Elves he passed, so he set his concentration on thinking of anything BUT food. So intent was he on keeping his stomach from growling, in fact, that he neglected his Elvish senses, and thus didn't realize that he was being followed, nor that anyone was waiting for him in his room until he was already several steps inside, the door shut behind him.  
  
"Good morning." Elladan said cheerily as Legolas swallowed, and Elrohir grinned from where he stood beside his twin.  
  
"Good morning." Legolas said warily, looking between the two twins and wondering if he should take the moment to bolt.  
  
"Have a nice sleep?" Aragorn's voice, coming from directly behind Legolas, confirmed the thought that he should bolt. Unfortunately, with Aragorn behind him, and the twins within ready intercepting distance of him if he tried to reach any of the other exits from the room, he had no place to bolt TO. So, instead, he quickly stepped forward and to the side, turning so he could see both the twins and Aragorn.  
  
"Yes, I did." Legolas said, trying to keep his rising fear out of his voice. Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir all together and being cheery or grinning was not now, nor had ever been, a good thing.  
  
"Hmm, that's a surprise, considering you did not return to your room last night." Elrohir commented, a grin still plastered across his face.  
  
"Unless, perhaps, you have become more accustomed to sleeping in trees than we have been informed of?" Elladan asked, a grin slowly spreading across his face. Legolas shifted his weight from one foot to another, considering how to answer that, then decided that a vague answer and a change of subject were what was needed.  
  
"Perhaps." he said. "Due to my unconventional sleeping spot, however, my clothes have suffered slightly. If you would excuse me, I am in need of a change. Perhaps we can talk later?" With confidence he didn't feel, Legolas strode towards his bedroom door, only to be blocked by Elladan. When he tried to step around, Elladan moved with him. Summoning his courage, he glanced up at the elf blocking his path with annoyance. When he caught sight of the feral grin and almost evil gleam in Elladan's eyes, however, Legolas gulped, and his courage and false confidence melted into a tiny puddle that squirmed its way through a crack in the floor.  
  
"Strange that your clothing has suffered from where you slept considering you did not sleep in your clothing." Elladan said, almost casually, as he continued to look down at Legolas.  
  
"And how would you know whether I spent the night in my clothes or not?" Legolas attempted to retort. It came out rather meekly, however, causing Elladan's feral grin to grow.  
  
"Because if you did not spend the night in your room, you either spent it in a ladies bed, or outside. Since there is no grass, twigs, or other plant matter anywhere on your clothing, you must have spent it with a lady." he said. Wracking his brain, Legolas grabbed at the first thing he could think of to get out of the situation - his higher rank.  
  
"And what if I did? It is no concern of yours." Legolas said, trying to sound haughty.  
  
"Normally, it would not be our concern." Aragorn said from beside Legolas, who inwardly cringed, knowing that while he might be able to pull rank on Elladan or Elrohir, he could not even try to do so with Aragorn.  
  
"However, it has become our concern because of exactly WHICH lady you spent the night with." Elrohir said from Legolas' other side.  
  
"And how would you know which lady I spent the night with?" Legolas asked, swallowing heavily. The two Elf Lords and King of Men just gave Legolas a withering look in response. Legolas attempted a nervous smile, and then found his arms grabbed by Elrohir and Aragorn.  
  
"Come, we have some things to discuss." Elladan said, suddenly cheerful, and Elrohir and Aragorn lifted Legolas by the arms and carried him out after Elladan as the Elf lord made for the west side of Rivendell.  
  
\/---La la la la la...*skips and sings* Legolas is in trooouble! Hee. Please review if you want to find out what the twins and Aragorn are going to do with him!---\/ 


	27. Never Mess With Elisandra

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Well, colour me surprised. It's reached the same number of chapters as 'Sightseeing in Middle-Earth'...  
  
To answer jeffiner1127's question, since she didn't leave an email, Elisandra hasn't turned completely Elf. Her elvish heritage is simply showing more...until she decides whether she wants to be elf or human, she'll still have some attributes of both. That's what I'm assuming happened with Elrond and Elros, and will continue to assume so unless I reach that part in the Silmarillion and find out otherwise...  
  
Ever notice that Elrond's family seems to have an infestation of male names starting with 'El'? Elrond, Elros, Elrohir, Elladan...Eldarion. O.o Rather creepy, if you think about it...  
  
Anyways, as a side note, I just discovered YESTERDAY that I'm going on vacation for a week starting tommorrow. Parents give incredible ammounts of warning, don't they? So this will probably be the last chapter I post before going away, unless I get a writing bug and write like crazy.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXVII-  
  
-Never Mess With Elisandra-  
  
------------------------------  
  
When Elisandra finally felt well - and energetic - enough to get out of bed, she quickly found that her stomach was agreeing with Legolas' previous idea of breakfast. So she put on some clothes, neatened her hair, then headed for the kitchens, having no idea what time it was and knowing the kitchens were the surest place to find a meal at any time of the day. At the kitchens, she found Árahen, and managed to get a meal out of her.  
  
"That was wonderful, I thank you." Elisandra said to Árahen with a smile once she finished. Árahen returned Elisandra's thanks with a smile and a nod.  
  
"It was no trouble. Lunch is not long past, and not many showed up to eat it when it happened. There is plenty of food waiting to be eaten." Árahen replied. Elisandra arched an eyebrow at that.  
  
"I thought I was the only one here to suffer from last night." she said, and Árahen chuckled.  
  
"Aye, you are. But you also retired earlier than most - the bonfire was only put out when the sky began to lighten, and some did not go to bed until the sun was fully up in the sky." Árahen said, and then sighed almost dejectedly. "I, poor wretch that I am, had kitchen duty this morning and was one of the few that had to retire early."  
  
"I'm sure you will have many chances to join in a bonfire later." Elisandra said dryly.  
  
"True enough!" Árahen said brightly, her false sorrow discarded even quicker than it had been summoned. "But now, m'Lady, I am afraid I need return to my duties, else I be forced to do kitchen duty next bonfire as punishment for neglect."  
  
"Then I shall leave you to it. Before you go, however, pray tell me if you have seen Legolas this morning?" Elisandra asked as she rose from the stool she had sat on to eat her meal.  
  
"Aye, I have." Árahen said, suddenly grinning. There was a sparkle in her eyes that made Elisandra dread the worst. A dread that was soon confirmed as Árahen added, "All of Rivendell has seen him."  
  
"Where?" Elisandra asked cautiously. Árahen pretended to be thoughtful for a moment before answering.  
  
"The majority saw him first when he was brought through the corridors early this morning, but the remainder saw him later as he sped down the river." she said.  
  
"WHAT?!" Árahen grinned at Elisandra's shocked face.  
  
"Oh, he was in a boat, child. Blindfolded and bound, true enough, but in a boat nonetheless." Árahen said. Elisandra stared dumbly at the Elf for a few moments.  
  
"Who -" she started to ask, but her mind made the connection before she could finish the question, the memory of Elladan and Elrohir suddenly coming upon her and Legolas as they were dancing the night before suddenly coming to the forefront of her mind.  
  
"I am going to kill those two." Elisandra said, her eyes narrowing, and she whirled and stalked towards the door.  
  
"Might as well get all three while you're at it!" Árahen called after Elisandra as she went, and Elisandra didn't even have to stop to ask who the other one was. Of those six in Rivendell that knew her well enough react in such a way, three already knew and had accepted it readily enough. Though with some hostility, on Gimli's part. So Elisandra stalked through the halls of Rivendell, and didn't even pause to knock on her uncles study door when she reached it.  
  
To say that the four residing in the study were surprised would be an outright lie. They had expected her all morning, and the only surprise they felt was at how long she had taken to come. Instead, for three of them, upon seeing Elisandra's face, their surprise was replaced by a nervous fear. Elladan and Elrohir, particularly, feared Elisandra at that point, for the last time they had seen that look on a female, it was on their sister, not long after they had let slip to their father about her and Aragorn's relationship. The two twins considered bolting, much as Legolas had earlier that morning, but one look at their grandfather standing smugly between them and the only other exit in the room and they knew they would not get far.  
  
"Good morning, Elisandra!" Celeborn was the first to break the tense silence, and to the extreme relief of Elrohir, Elladan and Aragorn, Elisandra turned her gaze to him.  
  
"It is not still morning, and even if it were, my morning has been anything but good." she said icily. She held Celeborn's gaze for a short while, and then he chuckled slightly, and she returned her gaze to the three she was truly interested in. To their great worry, she seemed to visibly calm before their eyes.  
  
"I heard some interesting tales in the kitchens today when I went to eat." she said smoothly. The twins looked at each other, and then looked at Aragorn, silently telling him that they weren't going to respond, so he darn well better.  
  
"There are often many interesting tales heard in the kitchen." Aragorn said carefully.  
  
"Yes, and also many pieces of news of goings on in Rivendell." Elisandra replied, still so calm that one seeing her who had not seen her anger a moment before would assume she was carrying on a normal conversation. Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir did not trust that calm exterior, but they knew she would only explode all the worse if they so much as thought about changing the subject.  
  
"There are indeed." Elladan said.  
  
"Do you know what most interesting piece of news I heard today when I went down to the kitchens to eat?" Elisandra asked casually, strolling over to the desk behind which Elladan sat. She absently glanced at the papers as she waited for an answer, but all in the room knew that her whole attention was focused on the twins and Aragorn.  
  
"I could not imagine what you could have heard." Elrohir replied, his voice shaking slightly at the end. Unlike his brother, he had not managed to escape his sister's wrath those many years ago. Arwen still had but to remind him of that incident to get him to do what she wanted.  
  
"I am sure you could imagine what I heard. Indeed, it concerned you, so I have no doubt you could imagine it." Elisandra said, the fire of her anger suddenly returning to her eyes as she whirled to give her foster uncle a hard stare.  
  
"It concerned me? Why, whatever did you hear?" Elrohir asked, his voice little more than a squeak. At the edge of his senses, he could have sworn he heard a snigger, but he ignored it.  
  
"I heard that you, your brother, and my foster father had been seen escorting a certain Elven prince to the docks. That certain Elven prince was later seen coasting down the river in a boat, bound and blindfolded." Elisandra replied, her voice growing in anger as she pieced together what she knew must have happened in her mind.  
  
"Ah, then you are a cruel victim of kitchen gossip. We went no where near the docks." Elladan said cheerfully, and then shrunk back into his chair as Elisandra's gaze turned to him.  
  
"Really." she said flatly. "Then I suppose you had a boat hidden farther upstream?" Elladan didn't reply until Elisandra arched an eyebrow, then he nodded vigorously.  
  
"Well then." Elisandra said after a moment, turning and surveying the other occupants of the room. Her gaze finally settled on Celeborn, and after a moment, her eyes flicked to his blue hair, then the twins and Aragorn before returning to meet Celeborn's eyes. He, in turn, arched a questioning eyebrow, and Elisandra's barely perceptible nod was all he needed before he grinned wolfishly. Elladan and Elrohir, seeing the exchange and knowing that a pact had been formed, were out of their seats and bolting for the door Elisandra had left unguarded even as Celeborn's grin finished forming. Aragorn was only seconds behind.  
  
---  
  
It was not until evening, several hours before sunset, that Legolas returned, soaked and annoyed. He wasn't really annoyed at being bound, blindfolded, put in a boat, and told to make it back by sunset or Elladan, Elrohir and Aragorn would not leave him alone with Elisandra for as long as they lived. No, he was more annoyed at the fact that they hadn't let him eat before he did it. He was always up for a challenge, and they had certainly provided one, but he would have liked to approach it with a full stomach. With a snort, Legolas told himself he needed to stop spending so much time with dwarves and hobbits.  
  
Try as he might, however, Legolas could not summon an ounce of even annoyance, let alone anger, at Elladan, Elrohir or Aragorn. It was just as well, he realized, as he walked to his room. His keen hearing caught a few snatches of whispered conversations between the elves he passed, and it was enough to let him know that something had happened while he was gone. Something involving Lord Celeborn, Elisandra, Elladan, Elrohir and Aragorn. He absently wondered what it was as he entered his room, and then discovered he need not wonder much longer, as Elisandra was waiting in his main room, sitting by the window reading, a plate of food beside her.  
  
"I heard you never made it to the kitchens this morning." Elisandra said, looking up from her book as Legolas eyed the food. He nodded, then quickly strode over to where the food was and wolfed down a few bites to quiet his stomach. He disappeared into his bedchamber and came out with some dry clothes, which he put on a chair, then ate a few more bites before he spoke.  
  
"Tell me what happened." Legolas said, and Elisandra grinned as she put down her book.  
  
"We threw them in the river, for one." she said as Legolas stripped off his wet tunic. She paused then, letting her eyes wander of Legolas' chest as he ate a few more bites, then pouted slightly and continued when Legolas put on the dry tunic he had just retrieved from his bedroom. Legolas, noticing Elisandra's distraction, grinned. "Of course, they were in nothing but their underclothes at the time. And while they were still trying to get out - we had tied all their legs together rather securely - their entire wardrobes mysteriously went missing." Legolas chuckled as he changed into dry leggings, pausing every now and then to eat some food. Elisandra, momentarily distracted by his changing, started up again after he got his new leggings on. "After that, they discovered a patch of previously unknown thorny bushes on the northern side of Rivendell, which, to everyone's utter surprise, contained three chests with their clothes in it." Elisandra was smirking as she finished.  
  
"And Lord Celeborn helped you with all of that?" Legolas asked in surprise, now sitting by Elisandra and just finishing off the plate of food.  
  
"Yes. I'm going to have to help him get back at Haldir - who Celeborn, amazingly enough, still hasn't managed to catch for turning his hair blue - but it will be worth it." Elisandra replied cheerily.  
  
"You are going to help Celeborn get back at Haldir? How?" Legolas asked. "And is that not slightly dangerous, as he IS your father?"  
  
"Oh, I'll explain it to him." Elisandra replied dismissively. Legolas arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Somehow I do not think that will make it any safer." he said.  
  
"Then I shall hide behind you." Elisandra said without a pause. Legolas sighed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"I knew I was going to get pulled in somewhere." he said.  
  
"Actually, you already have been." Elisandra said with a grin, nodding towards Legolas' soaking clothes.  
  
"That is from jumping in." Legolas replied.  
  
"You jumped in?" Elisandra asked with an arched eyebrow.  
  
"Well, they did not deign to leave me a paddle." Legolas replied, rolling his eyes. "So I had to swim back to shore."  
  
"The more I hear, the more I wish they had waited until I could watch." Elisandra mumbled.  
  
"Now I see your true feelings!" Legolas cried in mock hurt, and then started tickling Elisandra. Within moments, they were in a full-fledged tickle fight, which rapidly turned into a full-fledged make-out session, which resulted in their clothes also going missing and them ending out on Legolas' bed.  
  
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	28. Underappreciated Dwarven Wisdom

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Authors Note: Random note - Real Person Slash combinations can be very amusing. I hardly ever read slash (I think I've read under half a dozen slash stories in my life) but just the pairings and summaries can be twice as amusing a normal humour fic...  
  
Random Cute Elves go to bratprincess because she missed them while on vacation! And everybody can thank Diadora for her review which, when I was re-reading my reviews for the last chapter, gave me the idea for this chapter!  
  
Also, since people seem to have commented about it in my little picture, I'm saying now that Elisandra's dress isn't actually that low cut. She's leaning forward slightly, and thus, more of her cleavage is shown then normal. Plus, it just gave another option for what Legolas is looking at if you have an easily amused and pervy mind like mine...  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXVIII-  
  
-Underappreciated Dwarven Wisdom-  
  
------------------------------  
  
The next day found Gimli stalking along a deserted corridor in Rivendell, thoroughly annoyed with Elves. Why was he annoyed with Elves? Because they built such confusing places that were so easy to get lost in, and once you got lost, there was never an Elf in sight to point you in the right direction, though before you'd gotten lost, the halls were always teaming with Elves. That also went with the annoying habits Elves had of coming into the library - where some people were trying to read - to TALK. In Elvish, too, usually.  
  
Gimli snorted in annoyance as he turned a corner, and then abruptly stopped as he found himself face-to-waist with one of the elusive beings he'd been looking for. Looking up at the amused face of the elf he'd just about run into, Gimli discovered more things about Elves that annoyed him - their height, and their tendency to find humour in everything. In fact, that last annoying tendency was the whole reason he was out wandering the halls of Rivendell in the first place, Gimli reminded himself.  
  
The elf had excused himself and was starting to move away, Gimli noted, and he pulled himself out of his annoyance long enough to ask the elf for directions. After getting an answer, he thanked the elf as politely as he could manage in his current state of annoyance, then turned and set off down the hall, following the directions. After only a few minutes of walking, Gimli once again found himself in familiar corridors, and not long after that, he reached his destination. He paused for a moment at the door he had been seeking, ordering his thoughts, and then knocked heavily. There was no answer, and Gimli knocked again. At that point, the next door down opened, and a head sporting by now familiar sky-blue hair appeared from the doorway. Celeborn looked slightly surprised at seeing that Gimli was the one knocking on his neighbors door, then smiled slightly as the dwarf looked at him in annoyance.  
  
"He will not answer. He is still trying to get used to his hair." Celeborn said. "Just go in." Gimli arched an eyebrow at Celeborn's comment, but waited only until Celeborn had retreated back into his room before opening the door before him and stepping inside. Sure enough, the room was occupied, despite the lack of response to a knock.  
  
"What do you want?" Haldir grumbled from where he sat sprawled in a chair as he saw who had entered his room. Gimli had to stop and think about what he wanted for a moment, his carefully ordered thoughts having scattered like leaves in the wind when he saw the bright pink hair Haldir now sported.  
  
"I wish to speak with you." Gimli said, his voice gruff to hide his laughter.  
  
"Speak, then." Haldir said curtly. Gimli arched an eyebrow, having hoped for an invitation to sit. But Haldir did not seem inclined to invite the Dwarf to sit, so Gimli went to the nearest seat and sat down without an invitation. Haldir's gaze was now a mix of curiosity and annoyance.  
  
"I wish to speak with you about Elisandra." Gimli elaborated once he'd sat down.  
  
"Oh?" Haldir arched an eyebrow.  
  
"Indeed. She is young yet, and may not have noticed what I wish to discuss herself, but you, I know, are many times older than her - and me - and I am hoping that you have noticed this. Though I doubt it, as, even though you have spent more time around Elisandra these past few days than me, you have done nothing to alleviate the problem." Gimli said. Haldir's annoyance was now completely gone as he watched Gimli with curiosity, and Gimli knew that if he hadn't before, he now had the elf's full attention.  
  
"What problem might this be?" Haldir asked.  
  
"The problem that Elisandra has caused by so casually casting aside her relationships with the ones who raised her, only to pick up new relationships with you and Legolas." Gimli replied flatly, and Haldir's eyebrows rose a little in surprise, then furrowed slightly in thought.  
  
"I would not say she has cast aside her relationships with those who raised her." Haldir said after a moment.  
  
"She has." Gimli replied firmly. "Or have you not noticed how quickly Aragorn, Elladan or Elrohir excuse themselves from Elisandra's company when you arrive? Did you think they do so just to let the two of you get acquainted? They do not. They leave because they do not wish to stay to hear Elisandra calling another 'father', without even a thought. One can see it on their faces when they turn away." Haldir looked at the dwarf in surprise again, and as before, his surprise turned to thought, his mind sorting quickly through his memories, searching for anything to debunk what Gimli had said. He found nothing, however, and frowned slightly as he realized that, as loath as he was to admit such a thing, the dwarf was right. He was not going to admit such a thing out loud, however.  
  
"And why are you speaking with me about this?" Haldir asked crossly.  
  
"Elisandra and I, while friends of a sort, clash on serious subject matter. You, however, are her newly-found blood father." Gimli replied.  
  
"So you wish me to speak with her about this." Haldir said slowly, and Gimli nodded.  
  
"Aye." the dwarf said. "She would certainly listen more closely if it came from you than from me."  
  
"I shall try, then." Haldir said after a moment, frowning thoughtfully, then suddenly sighed with exasperation as a light breeze coming from one of the windows blew some of his bright pink hair into his eyes. "Though it will be amazing indeed if ANYONE listens closely to me as long as my hair remains this...color." Gimli let himself chuckle, then.  
  
"Everyone still listens to Lord Celeborn closely. I'm sure you'll manage." the dwarf said, standing up from his chair.  
  
"Yes, but at least Lord Celeborn's hair is not so bright it hurts the eyes." Haldir grumbled, and Gimli chuckled once more as he left the room.  
  
---  
  
Elisandra was walking through the gardens in the late afternoon, having just left the company of Legolas and Gimli, when she spotted a head of bright pink hair coming down the path towards her. With a smirk, she picked up her pace slightly, and soon arrived in front of Haldir. He scowled when he saw her smirk, and she quickly changed said smirk into an innocent grin.  
  
"Nice hair, atar [father]." she said sweetly. Haldir merely gave her a warning look in response.  
  
"We need to talk." he said.  
  
"It was all Lord Celeborn." Elisandra replied promptly, and Haldir chuckled.  
  
"Not about my hair. I shall have to have a talk with Lord Celeborn about that later." he said.  
  
"Then what do you wish to talk with me about?" Elisandra asked curiously.  
  
"Many things." Haldir replied vaguely. "But first, let us go someplace more comfortable than the middle of a garden path."   
  
"There's a nice garden with a bench in it not to far from here." Elisandra said, now thoroughly curious.  
  
"Good enough." Haldir said, offering Elisandra his arm, and she took it and led him off down the path. After a few minutes of walking, she turned off onto a small side path, and then it was only a short bit of walking before the two passed through some bushes and came upon a small glade with a bench off to one side, underneath an ancient oak tree. The ground was covered with grass and occasional patches of flowers, all waving slightly in a gentle breeze. Haldir smiled slightly as he looked around.  
  
"I think you spend far too much time walking in the gardens to have found such a place as this so quickly." he said, knowing that small glades like this, while scattered all around Rivendell, were very hard to find - most were built for or by the order of Celebrían, and she had liked her privacy. Especially when she went out on picnics with her lord. Haldir hid his smirk quickly as Elisandra replied to his comment.  
  
"Mmm, if I had found it, I would agree with you. But Legolas was the one to show me this particular glade." Elisandra replied. Haldir arched an eyebrow at that, and decided he didn't even want to know why Elisandra was now smiling dreamily. There were some things no parents ever wanted to know. He did, however, make a mental note to talk to Legolas soon about this commonly known thing called marriage. He could probably get Aragorn to help him with that little chat, too.  
  
"So what did you wish to talk about?" Elisandra asked suddenly, pulling herself from her thoughts and sitting down on the bench underneath the oak tree. Haldir joined her for a moment, frowning slightly in thought.  
  
"Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir." he said after a moment. Elisandra's mood shifted visibly, knowing exactly what one of the things about the three he would wish to talk to her about.  
  
"They deserved it." she said testily, and Haldir nodded.  
  
"That I will not deny." he said. "But you have not spoken with them about WHY they did it, and they, as well as I, felt that you should at least hear that, so you hold no grudge towards them."  
  
"I don't hold a grudge towards them." Elisandra said irritably. Haldir arched an eyebrow, but chose not to contradict.  
  
"Of course not. Still, you need to know why they put Legolas in that boat." Haldir said.  
  
"And why is that?" Elisandra asked, shifting in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.  
  
"Because they wished to make sure he was good enough for you." Haldir replied flatly.  
  
"What?" Elisandra asked incredulously. "But...they've known him for ages; they know what he's done in his life! Why on Middle-earth would they want to put him bound and blindfolded in a boat just to find out if he was good enough for me? He was one of the Nine Walkers, for Eru's sake!"  
  
"Ah yes, but he did not do any of his previous deeds for YOU." Haldir replied with a smile, and Elisandra looked at him in surprise. "Elrohir, Elladan and Aragorn wished to make sure that Legolas would do anything for you."  
  
"Couldn't they just ask him?" Elisandra asked in confusion, and Haldir grinned with amusement.  
  
"Elrohir, Elladan and Aragorn ask Legolas about his feelings for you?" he asked, then chuckled. Elisandra blinked, and then chuckled as well.  
  
"Alright, that would be a rather improbable event." she said, and Haldir nodded. "But still, did they have to put him in a boat, bound and blindfolded?"  
  
"Of course." Haldir said smoothly. "They know he could get back to shore by sunset when just stuck in a boat, blindfolded, with no paddle. They had to make it somewhat harder." Elisandra blinked in surprise.  
  
"And how did they know he could do that?" she asked.  
  
"This is not the first time Legolas has been sent down the river." Haldir replied dryly, and at Elisandra's arched eyebrow of disbelief, Haldir elaborated. "Elrohir, Elladan and Aragorn are all dear friends of Legolas', but they also love to use him as a victim. They have claimed it is to keep him from getting a swelled head."  
  
"Ah." Elisandra said.  
  
"Yes. Ah." Haldir replied with a smile, and then went somber again. "They probably would not have sent Legolas down the river this second time, though, if it had not been for your actions."  
  
"My actions?" Elisandra asked in surprise. "You mean my relationship with Legolas?"  
  
"No. Well, not exactly." Haldir said, and paused to arrange what he was going to say. "I mean your actions in how, almost as soon as you left Gondor, you put behind all the relationships of your past, those with the ones who have raised you since childhood, for new ones, with Legolas, Gimli, and with me."   
  
"What?" Elisandra asked, thoroughly confused, and Haldir sighed in frustration, mumbling something along the lines of 'damn dwarves'.  
  
"Elisandra, did you ever once stop to think how your suddenly ceasing to call Aragorn your father would affect him?" Haldir asked after a moment. Elisandra just looked at him for a moment, and then a worried look crossed her face.  
  
"I...no." she admitted finally, blushing furiously. "I...guess I'm just so used to seeing people's emotions right before me, that even now when I can no longer see fëa's, I don't really...stop to think about others emotions all that much." Haldir smiling softly.  
  
"I understand, but you need to start thinking about the emotions of others." he said. "You must learn that while fëa's do not lie about someone's emotions, it is very easy for one to hide their true emotions when you can only see their outward appearance."  
  
"So how should I go about learning to read people's true emotions without having to close my eyes to look at their fëa's?" Elisandra asked, and Haldir chuckled.  
  
"Elisandra, yendë [daughter], no matter how much you try, you will never be able to read anyone's emotions as easily with your eyes open as with them closed. Lady Galadriel was perhaps the only one who managed to even approach the type of reading of a person that you can do with your eyes closed, but even she could not tell the character of someone with a simple glance." Haldir said gently. "You can learn, however, to tell the emotions of others as well as anyone else here; if you ever wish to see more, you can always close your eyes and look at someone's fëa."  
  
"Right." Elisandra said, already looking thoughtful.  
  
"You might want to apologize to Aragorn, as well." Haldir added, and Elisandra distractedly nodded. They sat in silence for a moment longer, Haldir enjoying to peace of the garden, Elisandra deep in thought.  
  
"I am slightly confused by something." Elisandra said abruptly.  
  
"What's that?" Haldir asked.  
  
"You said that I had left my old relationships behind, yet you have only talked about Aragorn. And anyways, I have not left my relationship with Elladan and Elrohir behind, nor with mother." Elisandra replied, frowning in confusion.  
  
"Ask the dwarf about those ones." Haldir said with a snort, and Elisandra arched an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Why ask the dwarf?" she asked.  
  
"Because, though it pains me to admit it, he was the one who noticed the damage your mistake with Aragorn was causing." Haldir replied. "Though that did spur me into talking with Aragorn and the twins about why they put Legolas in that boat." Elisandra looked at Haldir in surprise, then chuckled.  
  
"Damn dwarves - always more observant then you think. I haven't even spent that much time around him these past few days." she said, and Haldir smiled.  
  
"Or maybe it's just more obvious than we who are closer to the matter think." he said. Elisandra paused for a moment, thinking that over, then shook her head.  
  
"Nah. He's just been hiding his ability to read people all these years." she said with a grin.  
  
"Perhaps we should go confront him?" Haldir suggested with a grin.  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me." Elisandra said, with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "He said something about heading for the library when I last saw him..."  
  
"That Dwarf is always in the library!" Haldir muttered as the two of them stood up.  
  
"I know." Elisandra said with a frown as she took Haldir's offered arm again and they left the garden. "Remind me to ask him why after I've asked him about Elladan and Elrohir and his hidden ability to read people."  
  
"Will do!" Haldir replied cheerfully, and they set off to find Gimli, thinking up as many complicated and confusing questions to ask him when they got there as they could.  
  
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	29. The Awwwwwwwww! Chapter

-Now with fixed Elvish grammar...and fixed English grammar *shuffles feet in embarassment*-  
  
Disclaimer: I own nada except the character of Elisandra, and the particular way in which the words in this story are put together. I have no money, anyways, so even if you sued me, you would only get enough for...hm, perhaps a milkshake...maybe a bag of chips. Depends how many commemorative quarters I have kicking around my room...  
  
Authors Note: Hmm, the last chapter seemed to be the chapter for crank reviews. Most of the crank reviews have been deleted for the sake of my readers, since they were mostly crude and uncouth. The flame has remained, because I find flames too amusing to delete. :D Only bad thing about the flame is the swearing in it. Tsk tsk. Silly flamer couldn't even write a flame without resorting to crude language. And what atrocious grammar...People! If you're going to flame me for horrible writing, the least you can do is set an example of good writing yourself!  
  
For those that asked, my vacation was wonderful. I got to go hiking in the mountains, where I spotted a reallyreallyreallycute ground squirrel, and got to play the Two Towers video game at my cousins. Couldn't get past the Rohan levels. :P Probably due to having not played a video game since the last time I visited that particular cousin...  
  
In other news, I finally finished the Silmarillion! Woot! Go me! I only started it several times, and then took close to two months to finally read it once I set my mind to finishing it...  
  
Also, once more, I apologize to anyone who speaks Sindarin and is reading this. I know I have to have broken several dozen Sindarin grammar rules in this chapter. Anybody who speaks Sindarin is welcome to tell me the proper translations in a review, though, and I'll gladly change the elvish in the story! And my apologies in general to all my readers for taking so long to get this chapter up, but it has been quite possibly THE hardest chapter out of all 29 chapters so far that I have had to write. On the plus side, this is the longest chapter yet, with chapter 17 being the only other chapter near as long!  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXIX-  
  
-The Awwwwwwwww! Chapter-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Elisandra poked Legolas where he lay on the grass, staring up at the sky. She'd been trying to get his attention for the past five minutes, but had no luck. They'd decided to go out into one of the remoter regions of Rivendell for a picnic this morning, but during the entire time the two had been out - which was close to an hour, at this point - Legolas had been distracted. Elisandra frowned now as she looked at Legolas, wondering what on earth he could have on his mind.  
  
"Legolas," Elisandra tried again, poking Legolas harder. There was still no response, so Elisandra decided to try a different approach. It would most likely result in distraction of another sort, but as long as Legolas wasn't staring up at the sky, deep in thought, Elisandra didn't mind. Not that she ever minded that particular distraction, she thought with a grin as she sat down next to Legolas and bent her head over his, blocking the sky from his vision. He barely had time to take notice of this before Elisandra kissed him, and then his full attention was wrenched away from whatever his thoughts had been to the half-elf maiden he had come for a picnic with.  
  
The kiss deepened as Legolas wrapped his arms around Elisandra, pulling her out of her sitting position so she was half lying on him. As their tongues danced with each other, Legolas and Elisandra rolled so that Legolas was now the one on top, and Elisandra's arms quickly wrapped around Legolas, pulling him closer. After a moment, however, he pulled away and looked down at Elisandra with an intensity in his eyes that she'd never seen before. Elisandra looked up at him curiously, and he let his head drop so that his forehead rested against hers, his eyes closing as he took shaky breaths.  
  
"Meleth nîn? [My love?]" Elisandra asked in concern.  
  
"Im meleth le. [I love you.]" Legolas said softly, and Elisandra's eyes widened slightly. While she and Legolas were lovers, they had never outright said that they loved one another - though Elisandra had felt her feelings strengthening to that point for quite some time. She was slightly speechless at Legolas' outright declaration, however, and remained silent. At her continued silence, Legolas opened his eyes and lifted his head again, looking down at Elisandra, his love, and surprisingly, fear, shining through his eyes.  
  
"Im meleth le." he said again, stronger, and it seemed to pull Elisandra out of her surprise.  
  
"A im meleth le. [And I love you.]" she said, lifting her head and kissing Legolas lightly on the lips. To Elisandra's surprise, Legolas looked almost relieved before he rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky again. Sensing another 'stare at the sky' session coming on, Elisandra rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows so that she was blocking Legolas' view of the sky.  
  
"No more staring at the sky until you tell me what on Arda you are thinking about that makes it so interesting." she said. Legolas chuckled softly.  
  
"Nothing much, meleth. [love]" he said lightly.  
  
"You have been zoned out and distracted for this entire picnic." Elisandra retorted. "What are you thinking about?"  
  
"It is nothing." Legolas said again, dismissively.  
  
"It is something." Elisandra insisted. "What is it?" A flash of mild annoyance crossed Legolas' face, and then he smiled ruefully.  
  
"I am just thinking about a conversation I had last night with your fathers." he said. Since Gimli's little observation, Elisandra had quickly rectified her neglect of Aragorn, and was now calling both him and Haldir father - albeit in different languages. All the elves seemed to find it extremely amusing that she had more than one father, though.  
  
"Oh? And what were they going on about now?" Elisandra asked with a smile.  
  
"You." Legolas replied with a grin. "What else?" Elisandra laughed.  
  
"I think my uncles need to find those two something to do." she said. "They're always wandering around talking about me, to anyone who will listen!"  
  
"I think no matter what Elladan and Elrohir found for them to do, they would still talk incessantly about you." Legolas said, absently starting to play with a piece of Elisandra's hair that had fallen across his forehead.  
  
"I'm going to have to break them of the habit, then." Elisandra said with a rueful smile.  
  
"I fear for them already." Legolas said, and Elisandra chuckled. There was a short moment of silence, and then Elisandra spoke up again.  
  
"So what were you talking about with my fathers that has you so distracted?" Legolas sighed.  
  
"Stubborn, and will not be distracted. What did I ever do to the Valar?" he said with mock exasperation. Elisandra grinned.  
  
"Nothing, except maybe be way too handsome for your own good?" she said. Legolas snorted and poked her on the nose.  
  
"I believe I am supposed to be the one flattering you." he said.  
  
"Then flatter me. After you tell me what you, Father and Atar [Father] talked about last night that you've been thinking about so much." Elisandra replied. Legolas chuckled.  
  
"And what if I do not wish to tell you?" he asked.  
  
"Then I'll go ask Father or Atar." Elisandra replied practically. "One of them will tell me."  
  
"Debatable." Legolas said.  
  
"Well, I'd love to debate it with you, except I need to know what they said in order to debate whether or not they'd tell me about it." Elisandra replied. Legolas chuckled again, then lifted his head up and gave Elisandra a quick kiss.  
  
"Nice try." he said as he lay back down. "Will it placate you if I promise to tell you later?"  
  
"Mmm, I suppose." Elisandra said. "As long as you actually tell me later."  
  
"I always keep my promises, meleth." Legolas said with a soft smile, which suddenly turned mischievous as he continued. "However, how MUCH later..." Legolas rolled out of the way just in time to avoid Elisandra's whack.  
  
"Time for lunch!" Legolas said cheerfully, pulling the picnic basket over to him and looking through it.  
  
"Silly elf." Elisandra said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Strawberry?" Legolas offered in response, grinning.  
  
---  
  
Elisandra knew that she shouldn't have let it bug her, especially since it really had been none of her business in the first place, but since Legolas had made such a fuss about not telling her, she just couldn't stop wondering what had distracted him earlier that day during their picnic. It was just nagging at her, no matter what she did - talked to someone, went for a walk, did stitchery, read a book, everything. It was getting rather annoying, actually, and she found herself wishing that Legolas would just show up out of the blue and tell her. But, last she'd heard, he'd closeted himself in the Elven smithy with Gimli, locking the door so even the normal smiths couldn't get in.  
  
Putting down her book with a sigh, Elisandra stood and went out onto her balcony, staring off towards the column of smoke in the not-to-far distance that marked the smithy. She absently toyed with the idea of finding one of her fathers and asking them what they'd talked to Legolas about, but decided that she'd give Legolas a chance to tell her. He had said he would tell her eventually, after all, and Haldir was always telling her she needed to be more patient. Elisandra just blamed her human blood and upbringing in response.  
  
Elisandra would have liked to have blamed her human blood and upbringing for this burning curiosity now, but she knew that was just an excuse. The Valar knew Elrohir had enough curiosity to outmatch any human, and Elisandra was sure there were other Elves out there just as curious as her foster uncle. Finally, Elisandra decided to just go to the smithy and see if she could get out of Legolas what had distracted him.  
  
Leaving her room, Elisandra quickly strode through the halls of Rivendell, greeting the various Elves that she had met since she arrived, and stopping for a short conversation about the weather with Celeborn. She arrived at the smithy's door quickly, for all that, and found one or two of the Elven smiths still waiting outside the door, looking distinctly annoyed. Elisandra smiled politely to them, and then approached the door. Inside, she could hear Legolas and Gimli arguing about something, though it seemed to be a rather friendly argument, and there were also various sounds of smith work being carried out. The was the muffled sound of someone exclaiming 'What do you mean you can't do that?', followed by the noise of someone being whacked solidly on the head, then Elisandra knocked lightly on the door, and all was quiet.  
  
"Yes?" Legolas' voice came drifting through the door.  
  
"Legolas, can I talk to you?" Elisandra called back through the door.  
  
"I don't know, can you?" Gimli's gruff voice replied. Once again, the sound of someone being whacked, and then Legolas spoke again.  
  
"I am a little busy, but if you will wait a moment, I shall come out." he said. The Elven smiths behind Elisandra came a little closer, apparently expecting to get back into their smithy now, but when Legolas appeared in the door a few minutes later, he closed the door sharply behind him and cast the smiths an annoyed look.  
  
"I said I was going to need it all day." he said, and a few of the smiths scowled before they all turned and stalked off. "At times like this, I love my title." Legolas said with a smirk once the smiths were out of hearing range.  
  
"What ARE you doing in there, anyways?" Elisandra asked with curiosity.  
  
"Mmm, nothing much." Legolas said, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking rather pleased with himself. "So, what did you want to talk about? Gimli, get away from the door and back to work." There was muffled muttering, and then the sound of heavy footsteps retreating to the other side of the smithy.  
  
"Well, I'm glad he listens to someone." Elisandra said dryly, and Legolas grinned. "I came down here because it's really bugging me."  
  
"What is?" Legolas asked blankly.  
  
"What you and my fathers talked about that distracted you so much this morning." Elisandra replied.  
  
"I told you I would tell you later." Legolas reminded Elisandra, and she nodded impatiently.  
  
"I know, but it's really really bugging me. It's like when you tell somebody to forget something that they only knew half of the information about - they always want to know more, even if it's just the other half of a recipe or something silly like that." Elisandra said. Legolas chuckled, then cupped Elisandra's face in his hands and gave her a light kiss.  
  
"I shall tell you what your fathers and I talked about, as well as what possessed me to lock myself in a smithy with a dwarf, tomorrow." he said with a small smile, then withdrew his hands and grinned. "For now, you shall just have to wonder."  
  
"Well, if you promise you'll tell me tomorrow." Elisandra said.  
  
"I do." Legolas said cheerfully, an amused grin on his face, and then he turned to go back into the smithy. "Im meleth le!"  
  
"Im meleth le." Elisandra replied with a small smile as Legolas disappeared into the smithy.  
  
"Might wanna wash your face, lass." Gimli said as he closed the door behind Legolas. Elisandra frowned slightly, then went over to a nearby fountain and peered into the water. Seeing two large, Legolas-hand-shaped black smudges on her cheeks, Elisandra rolled her eyes.  
  
"Silly elf." she muttered for the second time that day, then set about washing off the smudges.  
  
---  
  
Elisandra hardly saw Legolas at all the next day, despite his promise to tell her what had distracted him so much and why he had locked himself in the smithy with Gimli. She saw Legolas at meals, and a few quick moments in the halls, but the rest of the time, all she caught of Legolas were glimpses as he dashed off to someplace, followed by a very amused looking Gimli. During the times Elisandra managed to catch Legolas for a quick talk, with the dwarf around or not, Legolas was unnervingly cheerful. When Elisandra finally gave in and asked Legolas why on Arda he was acting so strange, he simply replied "You shall see!", gave Elisandra a quick kiss, then practically bounded off.  
  
By the time suppertime came around, Elisandra had decided that Legolas had gone insane, and everybody was just letting him be because it was so amusing. At least, everybody who spotted Legolas seemed extremely amused by his behavior. Gimli had even commented that he was just following Legolas out of pure amusement rather than having anything to do with what Legolas was doing. That, of course, had led to the question of what WAS Legolas actually doing, and then Gimli sped up and disappeared around a corner Legolas had just turned, leaving a very confused Elisandra.  
  
Now on her way to supper in the main hall, Elisandra determined that she was going to get to the bottom of Legolas' strange behavior, even if she had to tie him down to do it. Fortunately for Legolas, she never got much farther in her plans to get out of him what his behavior was all about, because as she approached the main hall, Elrohir suddenly appeared in front of her, grinning like an idiot. Without a word, Elrohir handed Elisandra a note, took her by her shoulders and turned her around so she faced away from the main hall, then disappeared again.  
  
Bewildered, Elisandra looked over her shoulder after Elrohir for a moment, then shrugged and looked down at the note in her hands. Their was no name on the front, but there could be little question that the note was to Elisandra, judging from its delivery. Turning the note over, Elisandra was surprised to discover that it had been sealed as if it were an official document. Looking closer at the wax seal, Elisandra's eyes shot up as she recognized the seal as Legolas'. Curious, Elisandra opened the note, and was rather disappointed to discover that it held only three lines of writing:  
  
Meleth nîn,  
  
Come to the stables.  
  
Legolas  
  
It explained nothing - in fact, it confused Elisandra more. No more explanation was forthcoming, however, so with a sigh, Elisandra headed off to the stables. She stopped by her room only long enough to drop the note on her dresser, and then hurried off. Arriving at the stables, Elisandra discovered Arod standing peacefully outside the stable doors, munching on some grass and looking for all the world like he belonged right where he was instead of in his stall or the paddocks.  
  
"What are you doing out here, boy?" Elisandra asked with confusion, coming over to Arod. Noticing her, the horse lifted his head and snorted in her face, then nuzzled her. After receiving a few pats, Arod started nudging Elisandra towards his back. Elisandra looked at the horse - which was quickly getting impatient - curiously, and only then noticed the braid at the top of Arod's mane. It was a small, neat braid, but it stood out due to the green ribbon that had been used in it - and the small green leaves that were tied to the end of the braid.  
  
"Oh, very subtle." Elisandra said, shaking her head. "Green leaves tied into your own horse's mane..." Elisandra rolled her eyes, then gave into Arod's incessant nudging and pulled herself up onto the horses back. Once she was as comfortably settled as she could be when riding astride a horse in a skirt, Arod took off at a brisk trot. For the first little while, Arod followed common paths, but he eventually turned off onto less well known paths, and soon started climbing up out of the valley. Elisandra was really wondering where they were going now, though she was enjoying the view of Rivendell as they climbed. Finally, the ground leveled out, and Arod was trotting along the top of the cliffs on the northern edge of Rivendell.  
  
Then, abruptly, Arod stopped and snorted, stamping his feet. Elisandra took the hint and dismounted, looking around curiously and wondering why Arod had stopped here. There was no evidence of anyone else being anyone near, in fact, except for the view of Rivendell over the cliffs, there was no sign of any civilization. This wouldn't have bothered Elisandra overly much if Arod hadn't suddenly took off at a gallop back towards Rivendell. That was very alarming, and Elisandra considered following the horse before her eyes caught on something resting on the ground where Arod had been standing. Walking over to it, Elisandra found herself looking down at a very familiar arrow - pointing off to the north, along the cliffs.  
  
Smiling, Elisandra picked up the arrow and headed off in the direction it had pointed. If it had been anyone else who led Elisandra on this merry chase, Elisandra would have long ago become annoyed and probably snapped at someone - but love soothes the soul, and makes all sorts of exceptions to rules. Thus, Elisandra was now humming happily to herself as she walked on the small piece of grass between the trees and the edge of the cliffs, twirling Legolas' arrow between her fingers.  
  
After a time, Elisandra became aware that she could hear a waterfall in the near distance, and sped up slightly when she realized it was in the direction she was heading. Then, suddenly, she came upon a stream running across her path, which tumbled over the cliffs down into the river below. Elisandra peered down at the waterfall for a few moments, and then went to continue, only to spot another arrow lying on the ground, pointing into the bushes and trees which the stream emerged from. Elisandra cheerily picked up that arrow as well before plunging into the bushes.  
  
Coming out on the other side of the bushes, Elisandra let out a small squeak of amazement. She was now in a small clearing, at the far end of which a small pool rested, the source of the small stream which Elisandra had followed. There was a willow tree growing on the far side of the pool, its hanging branches masking most of the pool, but what water the tree didn't hide gleamed like gold in the soft glow that was coming from the sunset through a well-placed gap in the trees. It was, overall, a stunning picture, but Elisandra couldn't help that feel it was missing something.  
  
"Have any trouble getting here?" a soft voice asked in Elisandra's ear, and she smiled. Ah yes, that was what it was missing.  
  
"It was rather easy with all the directions." Elisandra said, turning to Legolas, winding her arms around his neck, and kissing him lightly.  
  
"Maer. [Good.]" Legolas said with a smile, giving Elisandra a light kiss in return. Then he gently unwrapped Elisandra's arms from around his neck and grabbed her hand. "Teli! [Come!]" he said, then led Elisandra into the clearing, across the stream, and under the branches of the willow tree. Underneath the tree, Elisandra was surprised to discover that there was much more room than she'd originally anticipated - in fact, besides the pool, there was a rather large stretch of grass, to which Legolas now led her. He let go of her hand, then, and with a graceful leap, disappeared up into the tree. A moment later, he dropped back to the ground, this time holding a basket that, judging from the smells coming from it, contained food.  
  
"I believe you left before you could eat?" Legolas asked with a smile, sitting down and opening the basket. Elisandra chuckled, then sat down besides Legolas, setting the two arrows of his that she was carrying back by the tree, as Legolas started pulling things out of the basket. Most of it was common picnic fair, but a few things - a cake, some still-warm meat, and a bottle of miruvor - were unique for a picnic. There was also quite a large selection of food.  
  
"Planning on me being hungry?" Elisandra asked with an arched eyebrow once Legolas had emptied the basket, looking at all the food now spread out before them.  
  
"I let Gimli pack it all, since he could get more out of the cooks then I. Apparently he thought we would both be hungry." Legolas said, eyeing the large amount of food.  
  
"Well, you WERE running around Rivendell all day." Elisandra replied practically as she picked up some grapes.  
  
"Mm, that I was," Legolas said with a smile, snatching a grape from the bunch Elisandra was now holding and popping it into his mouth. They continued with small talk as they ate their supper, and by the time they're finished eating, not only had the sun set, but the had devoured a surprisingly large amount of the food. Legolas packed the remains of their supper - and his two arrows - into the basket again, and then deposited it in the branches of the trees again. Coming back down from the tree, he wrapped his arms around Elisandra and kissed her soundly.  
  
"Teli! [Come!]" he said again when he pulled away, and then grinned mischievously as Elisandra had to take a few moments to recover from the kiss and understand what he'd said. Then Legolas grabbed Elisandra's hand again and led her out from underneath the willow - out of the clearing entirely, in fact. They arrived back at the cliffs, and looking south to Rivendell, Elisandra gasped in surprise. The moon was yet to rise, but the starlight shone down on the Last Homely House, causing it to glitter and sparkle, looking like a pearly jewel nestled in the dark green of the valley.  
  
"The first time I came to Imladris [Rivendell], I got slightly lost, and ended up coming at it from the north, along this edge of the cliff." Legolas said, smiling softly. "I think I was the only person to ever be disappointed when they arrived in Imladris, since it did not sparkle and glitter up close like I had seen it do from here."  
  
"I can see why. It's beautiful." Elisandra breathed.  
  
"Thou art more beautiful by far." Legolas said softly, looking down at Elisandra. She looked up at him and smiled, stepping closer and wrapping him in a hug, resting her head against his chest. Legolas rested his head on top of Elisandra's, and they stood like that for quite some time, enjoying being in each others arms as the looked out over Rivendell as it sparkled in the starlight. Eventually, Legolas raised his head and stepped back slightly, drawing Elisandra's curious gaze to him. She noticed that he seemed slightly nervous, but she just waited, her hands resting lightly on his chest, as he looked down at her with his love shining in his eyes.  
  
"Elisandra, I - I have something I would like to ask you." Legolas said after a moment, one of his hands disappearing behind his back.  
  
"What, Meleth nîn?" she asked, seeing that he needed a little help getting his question out. Now Elisandra was truly curious, feeling that the answer to all her questions about why and what Legolas had been doing over the past few days were about to be answered in his question. Elisandra almost giggled at that thought - all her questions answered by another question. Oh, life was amusing. She turned her mind back to the present, however, as Legolas began to speak again.  
  
"I know I have not known you for any great amount of time, and we have been lovers for even less time, but im meleth le, anpân nîn ind, a pân faer nîn. [I love you, with all my heart, and all my soul.]" Legolas lapsed back into his native language as he talked, but then paused and took a deep breath before continuing again in the Common tongue. "I have searched all my life for my soul mate, and I have at last found you. Now I would ask if you would so honour me as to agree to bind yourself to me." Elisandra looked at Legolas, stunned for a moment, barely noticing that his hand had reappeared from behind his back holding a ring. Then she did look down at the ring, and found it looked suspiciously like it was made of mithril, a simple band with small engravings on the side, and a leaf-shaped emerald set in the top.  
  
Elisandra had been right, of course, Legolas' question had answered all her other questions - and now he required an answer. He was looking down at her, almost pleadingly, and hesitantly, Elisandra closed her eyes and looked at his fëa. He seemed to understand what she was doing - at least, his fëa was not dimmed, nor hidden in any way. It practically shone now, completely obscuring his figure, in the light that came from his love, and across that love flitted something Elisandra had never seen before - her own fëa. Elisandra's eyes snapped open, and she looked up at Legolas.  
  
"I love you as well, Laicalassë [Greenleaf {in Quenya}], and would be honored myself to be bound to you." she said softly. Joy lit Legolas' face, and he leaned down and kissed Elisandra, only holding the kisses intensity back long enough for him to put the ring on Elisandra's finger before losing himself in the kiss and the night.  
  
\/---This stories gonna be ending soon, folks, so review while you can! Just press that little blue button in the left hand corner of the screen and tell me what you thought!---\/ 


	30. The End

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Elisandra and the way some of the words in this chapter are put together. The words near the end that tell of Arwen and Legolas' fates were taken (and modified) from Appendix B of 'The Return of the King'.  
  
Authors Note: Ugh, I almost made myself cry with this chapter...*sigh* Why must people die? Oh well...  
  
To my 'Not Important' reviewer - thank you. I wish you'd left your email so I could thank you through email. It actually does mean a lot to me to have someone tell me that while they dislike the Mary-Sueish aspect of my story, they like my writing. So thank you.  
  
To JB (why don't people leave e-mails?) - Aragorn and Haldir were the ones who gave Legolas a stern talking to about marriage to Elisandra in the first place...so naturally they'd just congratulate. As for the twins, they'd probably do the same. And maybe start teasing Elisandra and Legolas. Or throw a party. Ah, yes, to be Lords of Imladris...  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Chapter XXX-  
  
-The End-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-March 3rd, 119 of the Fourth Age-  
  
The city was hung with banners of black, and all its citizens wore black, matching the grief that masked their faces. The message had been true, then, Elisandra realized as she rode slowly up through the streets of Minas Tirith. The thought nearly made her want to cry again, but she held off, instead spurring her horse into a gallop. The people watched her almost mistrustfully as she passed, as if wondering who would have the heart for speed at such a time.  
  
Behind her, Elisandra could hear Legolas calling out to her to slow down, but she ignored him, heading full-tilt to the top of the city. The palace guards didn't even make a token effort to stop her - besides the fact that Elisandra's expression boded ill for any who delayed her, they knew her. She visited frequently, and their fathers had told them tales of playing with the Princess of Eryn Lasgalen when she was young and lived in the palace.  
  
Dismounting from her horse with a flurry of her riding skirts, Elisandra barely paused long enough to hand the reigns of her horse to a panting stable boy before striding quickly to the House of Kings on the Silent Street. She paused, then, at the door, but only for a moment, to let her husband catch up with her. Then, together, they entered the House of Kings.  
  
As the message had told, there, in the flickering light of a torch, lay the body of Aragorn II, son of Arathorn II, Ranger of the North, foster son (as well as son-in-law) of Lord Elrond Peredhil, and King of Gondor. Kneeling at his head was Arwen Undómiel, her head bowed in grief, all her tears long gone.  
  
"Mother -" Elisandra stopped and swallowed, unable to say anymore as the grief that she had so far held back through disbelief hit her. With silent tears falling down her cheeks, Elisandra went to her foster mother and kneeled next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder to offer what comfort she might. Legolas, too, came to the King's body, standing at its feet and looking down on the Man he had called friend. Wrapped in their grief, none of the Elves took much notice when three others entered, except for when they felt their comforting presences.  
  
"Come." Eldarion, son of Aragorn, and now King of Gondor, said finally, gently pulling his foster sister to her feet. Lúthanaur, Eldarion's eldest sister, pulled their mother to her feet, and together the two siblings, along with Gimli, led the three Elves from the tombs of the Kings of Gondor, and into the palace.  
  
The three Elves sat down without being urged to when they arrived in a private sitting room, but none said anything for quite awhile. Eldarion, Lúthanaur and Gimli looked at each other with worry, for well they knew of the bond all three Elves had shared with the dead King, and of Elves ability to die from grief. Their worries were unfounded, however, for all but the Queen, for as the moon rose over Gondor, Legolas' eyes cleared of his grief, and taking Elisandra's hand, he brought her out of her grief, as well.  
  
"It is time, then." the Prince of Eryn Lasgalen said, his voice tired. None needed to ask what he meant - there had been many discussions of late of Legolas and Elisandra's eventual journey to Valinor.  
  
"You can come with us, Naneth [Mother]." Elisandra said quietly, but the Queen shook her head.  
  
"I chose mortality. I am bound to Middle-Earth, and to the Doom of Men." Arwen said, her voice barely above a whisper. Then she added, almost thoughtfully, "I do believe I would like to see the Golden Woods again, though."  
  
"We shall escort you there." Legolas said.  
  
"There is little danger in the journey anymore." Arwen said, shaking her head. "It is time for you to leave." The other occupants of the room looked at each other uncertainly, but Arwen fixed them all with the stern, commanding look that could only come from someone both Queen and Mother, and reluctantly, Legolas nodded.  
  
"Very well." he said.  
  
And that is what Arwen Undómiel, Evenstar of the Elves, did. She said farewell to Eldarion, and to her daughters, and to all whom she had loved,; and she went out from the city of Minas Tirith and passed away to the land of Lórien, and dwelt there alone under the fading trees until winter came.  
  
There at last when the mallorn-leaves were falling, but spring had not yet come, she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the sea.  
  
But Legolas and his wife built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down the Anduin and over the Sea, taking Gimli the Dwarf with them to the Undying Lands in the West. There they lived out their immortal lives in love and happiness...  
  
\/---Since I messed around and deleted my Authors Note chapter, you're going to hafta go to the next chapter to review if you want to do a signed review! Sorry folks! (oh, poor readers, you will have to read the end of the story before you can review. *giggle*)---\/ 


	31. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own the Valar, or Middle-Earth. Really. (Happy Manwë? *harumph*)  
  
Authors Note: See end of chapter.  
  
------------------------------  
  
-No Eyes Needed-  
  
------------------------------  
  
-Epilogue-  
  
------------------------------  
  
Two figures stood, watching, as a small boat carrying three passengers landed on the shores of the Undying Lands. As the new arrivals greeted those waiting for them, one of the two watching figures spoke.  
  
"The tale is done, they have come at last into the West." he said.  
  
"As we knew they would." his companion replied sagely.  
  
"One does have to wonder, however, how long it shall take before she comes looking for answers." the first said thoughtfully.  
  
"Judging from the company she keeps, not long." the other replied wryly.  
  
"And what shall we tell her?" the first one queried.  
  
"That it was a gift to aid her in finding her family, which she would not have found otherwise." the other replied promptly.  
  
"Ah, that is a clever story." the first one said with a chuckle.  
  
"I thought so. At least it will not be the truth." the other said sheepishly.  
  
"Yes, no one besides us two ever needs to know THAT particular truth, Manwë, my friend." the first one said with a small shudder.  
  
"I doubt they would believe it was the truth even if we told them." Manwë said wryly.  
  
"Or we both might end up getting what we deserve." his friend replied briskly.  
  
"Which is?" Manwë asked with curiosity.  
  
"A swift kick in the pants." the other replied with a grin.  
  
"Well how were we to know that the wine was as strong as it was?" Manwë said defensively.  
  
"We could have asked." his friend said with a roll of his eyes.  
  
"YOU could have asked, you mean. You were the one that found it, Mandos." Manwë retorted.  
  
"And paid for it later when Yavanna found out." Mandos grumbled.  
  
"At least none of them found out about what we did while inebriated." Manwë said cheerfully.  
  
"Thank Eru for that." Mandos said with conviction.  
  
"Thank Eru indeed." Manwë agreed, as sincere as his friend.  
  
-C'est Finis-  
  
A/N: Alright, so Valar getting drunk isn't exactly the most clever reason for how Elisandra ended up with her sight...but it is damn funny! Also, I forgot somewhere between the beginning of this fic and the end what my reason for Elisandra's sight was going to be...  
  
ANYWAYS. I've already gotten many reviews asking for a sequel (about WHAT?! Everything got wrapped up!) and I know I'm probably going to get lots of reviews asking for me to at least write another story. Well, I can't guarantee anything at this point, but - I do have an idea for another FanFic, and I MIGHT expand on 'Consequences'. Big might, though - for some reason the story doesn't really interest me. As for my other idea, I'm not sure if I'm going to have the patience to finish a FanFiction based on it. It has the plot of a very LONG story, and involves Mary-Sue bashing (I get to bash my own stories! Hee...) and angst (which I've sorely missed in this FanFic), and a little romance, yes.  
  
So yeah, that's all for me on this story. See y'all around the 'net, and possibly in reviews!  
  
-Crimson Starlight 


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